Futurist Mike Walsh suggested educators need not worry about being replaced by artificial intelligence. Walsh began with a joke about how difficult it is to explain what a “futurist” is. But in all seriousness, he said there’s a dilemma of collecting data and using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Students’ content consumption experiences are all algorithmic experiences, collecting data and feeding them recommendations based on that. This, he said, is only a recent development, beginning around 2012.
By 2030, however, the world will be composed of seamlessly orchestrated and personalized experiences made possible by AI platforms, he said — but what does that really mean?
This is best seen in retail, where companies are competing to send people things as soon as they order. The point of big data and AI is to anticipate what people want before they know they want it and deliver it to them.
As a result, it’s time to reinvent, redesign and reimagine, Walsh said. Are people thinking big and fast enough about the power of technology like AI to change education? Is this being considered from students’ frames of reference, with their ideas being included? What would students do differently if they were to design the technology used in their schools or districts — and what might be better or worse?
Educators need not worry about being replaced by AI, he added. Automation will simply change the profession, requiring them to embrace new roles around the tasks that AI eliminates or simplifies.
"The people in your care are literally going to transform the fabric of reality." - Mike Walsh