蘑菇传媒

Is artificial intelligence (AI) a threat to the integrity of a college degree? Many universities fret that it will 鈥渒ill higher education.鈥� But this fear is misplaced, and even dangerous. AI is an essential tool for the modern economy, and excommunicating it from the classroom will only produce graduates unprepared for the future.

鈥淚nstead, universities must teach their students to 鈥榣earn how to learn鈥欌�攖o adapt to disruptive technologies like AI,鈥� writes President Jerry Balentine, D.O., in an op-ed in .

The current panic over AI is no different from the reaction when calculators and computers first entered classrooms. Of course, computers and calculators did not render generations of students unable to do math. 鈥淲hat matters is training students to use the technology properly,鈥� he states. Universities should teach their students to use AI as a way to enhance critical thinking, not replace it. Fluency with today鈥檚 AI tools can also prepare students for the next generation of technology.

Employers are already prioritizing AI competency and adaptability. More than 90 percent of Bank of America鈥檚 workforce now uses AI tools. And Accenture recently announced plans to lay off employees who can鈥檛 reskill on AI.

AI-related job postings have doubled in the last year, signaling that the future belongs to those adapting to new technologies. Higher education must do the same. AI technology won鈥檛 replace people entirely鈥攂ut 鈥渢hose who know how to use AI will replace those who don鈥檛,鈥� says President Balentine. 鈥淯niversities must strive to ensure their graduates fall into the former group.鈥�

At 蘑菇传媒, we teach how AI works and how to use it ethically and effectively. Our employ AI as a force multiplier. Students in our business AI major learn AI skills alongside traditional analytics.

Other institutions integrate AI training across disciplines, but universities must make AI-integrated degrees and courses more commonplace, as well as support mid-career professionals and employers in AI adaptation.

We don鈥檛 know what AI will look like a decade from now, 鈥渂ut if we don鈥檛 start preparing students now, they鈥檒l be left behind鈥攁nd so will the institutions that failed them,鈥� President Balentine concludes.

Read the entire and watch President Balentine discuss the major theme of his op-ed on a听听news segment.

This op-ed is part of a campaign designed to help generate awareness and thought leadership for the university on topics of national relevance.