All eyes are on artificial intelligence (AI) tools ever since ChatGPT took the world by storm last year. Higher education, like most industries, is grappling with what role AI should play and the ethical issues it presents.

Discussions are moving from fears of students using AI tools to cheat to how it can be deployed to increase efficiencies, solve real-world problems, provide better access to education, and prepare students for a world where, as Forrester Research predicts, AI will reshape more than 11 million jobs. Higher education is notoriously slow to adapt to change, and AI is developing faster than lightning. This poses a challenge for advising professionals such as college and career advisors, and independent educational consultants (IECs). How should students prepare for this changing landscape once they are in college? How do we advise our clients about college majors and careers?

According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, one of the fastest growing industries will continue to be healthcare. With a rapidly aging population, AI tools could play an essential role in serving this population. Through analysis of data from wearable devices, and electronic health records, AI can provide real-time information, detect early signs of disease, and generate personalized treatment protocols and recommendations. However, HIPAA laws will need to be considered, as will the ethics of using AI in these ways. As IECs advise aspiring nurses and doctors, it will be important to stress that AI is a tool that they will need to learn about in addition to their domain knowledge in their respective medical fields.

One big question is which fields will be in less demand due to AI and which will thrive. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023, data analytics, climate change and environmental management technologies, and encryption and cybersecurity are predicted to be the largest drivers of job growth in the next five years. AI, along with digital apps, e-commerce, and digital trade are expected to disrupt companies and result in a shedding of jobs; however, companies expect new roles to emerge for a net positive in the number of positions available. See figure 1 for fastest growth and declining jobs through 2027.

What about the skills that workers will need? Analytical, critical, and creative thinking were the top skills employers sought in 2023. These ranked just ahead of resiliency and agility, motivation, and curiosity and lifelong learning. All these skills are seen as essential to workers adapting to disruption. Higher cognitive skills are growing in importance, whereas jobs that require lower cognitive skills such as basic math and reading will likely be replaced by AI tools. Figure 2 shows the core skills for their workforce as cited by surveyed organizations.

“If the lower half of cognitive work gets taken over by genAI, it implies that you’ve got to learn critical thinking. That means critical thinking, regardless of which domain you’re in, becomes the skill that is far, far more needed,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM Corporation, at the 2023 World Economic Forum annual meeting.

With colleges being all about critical thinking, they are well positioned to lead on AI. While most colleges have been slow to embrace AI’s potential, there are some early adopters. The University of Florida is leading the way in building an AI university. They have hired more than 100 instructors across their 16 colleges to infuse AI and AI ethics across the curriculum in all disciplines. They offer more than 200 AI courses, as well as certificate programs. Their Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center coordinates all programming and integrates with the career development center. The goal is to produce an AI-ready workforce.

At Northeastern University, the AI4Impact Co-op Program, through the Burnes Center for Social Change, combines social sciences, technology, data, and project management to help students learn how to solve real-world problems, such as helping community members engage with Congress and assisting families of special-needs students. Students take skills-based classes simultaneously with the six-month paid co-op. Through its Institute for Experiential AI, Northeastern transcends the headline-grabbing ChatGPT-type tools to integrate research with business to discover solutions to real challenges.

Clemson University offers the Watt AI program, which brings students, faculty, researchers, and AI technology together to work on initiatives. Projects to date include using natural language processing to understand Shakespeare’s plays, identifying and analyzing disinformation campaigns on social media, and improving career readiness by analyzing feedback from interns and mentors.

When helping students think about college majors and their future careers, they will be best served by attending a college that is actively engaging in the world of AI and thinking about how to provide its students with the skills of the future. This may be more important than choice of major…

These initiatives clearly show that AI can be applied across disciplines. When helping students think about college majors and their future careers, they will be best served by attending a college that is actively engaging in the world of AI and thinking about how to provide its students with the skills of the future. This may be more important than choice of major, and, given the skills that employers seek, a grounding in liberal arts and sciences, in addition to chosen major, will continue to be critical, perhaps even more so in the coming decades.

If IECs or their clients are interested in engaging with college staff, such as career center professionals, about their plans for AI, here are some questions to ask:

• What kinds of discussions do you have with students who may be seeking careers that will face decline in the near future?
• How are you helping students build the skills and competencies they will need in a work world that will use AI tools?
• Has the college considered how AI can enhance the student experience?
• What courses and certificate programs are offered or planned related to AI and AI ethics?
• Are there plans to incorporate AI knowledge across the curriculum in all disciplines?
• Are faculty members engaging in AI-related research? Does this research occur across disciplines? Can students get involved?

AI is a tool. It will never replace specific domain knowledge or skills that employers seek, such as creative and analytical thinking, and curiosity and agility, that humans are so good at. Employers will continue to demand such skills and an interdisciplinary college education will still best equip people with this knowledge. AI will not kill the liberal arts. However, to be successful in the future, workers from the C-suite to the manufacturing floor will need to know how to use these tools. The real threat to future jobs is not AI itself but the resistance to embracing it.

By Joan Casey, EdM, CEP, IECA (MA)