News & Media

One of the most commonly used phrases in college and university mission statements is “lifelong learning.” It’s a term that is very popular as an aspirational goal in both higher education and across corporate learning. At the same time, phrases such as “upskilling” and “reskilling” have become part of our vernacular as well. Lifelong learning and skilling are indeed two very different things …

It’s time to get real about artificial intelligence. Some hail it as a powerhouse for economic growth; others warn that AI is ushering in a world dominated by job-killing robots. As usual, the truth is nuanced, and somewhere in the middle.

Tesla is currently recruiting 10,000 people to work for Giga Texas in Austin. An announcement, retweeted by Elon Musk last week, states: “High School Grads: You do not have to have a college degree to work for Tesla. You can work for Tesla straight out of high school.” The announcement goes on to explain that Tesla is looking to hire passionate young people, who have an interest in continuing their education.

There was a time when corporate executives looked at artificial intelligence and other technology and saw them largely, if not solely, as a way to reduce costs. But as AI and algorithms become integral parts of everyday work, smart executives are seeing that the best course of action is a sort of merger of human and machine.

As the pandemic rages and efforts to contain it seem to inch forward, we are seeing its disproportionate impact on women—above all, working mothers, who are bearing the brunt of altered school schedules and remote learning. Indeed, the nation is having its first “she-cession.” How the country responds should go to the heart of how we begin to rethink the work of the future.

A quick Google search of the phrase “the future of work” yields over 100 million hits.  A lot of them fall in what I’ve been calling the “robot zombie apocalypse” camp; the idea that massive job loss is coming because of rapid advances in artificial intelligence. For example, a report from McKinsey said 800 million jobs worldwide could be automated in the next 10 years.

Although we continue to believe the “average” college student gets a job after graduating from college, the fact is that two-thirds are employed while in college, and four out of 10 are employed full-time. A lot of students actually bring significant work experience to college with them — half of all students are financially independent of their parents, a third are over 25, and six out of 100 have served or are serving in the armed forces. The notion of students as “empty vessels” is seriously outdated.