In AI age, universities will matter ‘more than ever’: #UAConf18

In the US, people are literally dying because of automation. These 'deaths of despair' occur when people lose their jobs, as, for instance, factories replace human workers with machines. As the only developed country where working-class people's lifespans are declining, the US is rightfully soul-searching about how to deal with the new technological era: that of artificial intelligence (AI). Bruce Reed, co-chair of the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative, opened his Universities Australia 2018 Conference presentation with these sobering facts. "The question used to be, 'what do you want to do when you grow up?' Now, it's 'What do you want to do when the robots grow up'?," he stated. Australian jobs are just as vulnerable to automation as American ones. Already, up to half of Australians are insecurely employed, working, for example, in the 'gig' economy or as freelancers or casuals. This proportion is set to increase as AI's dominance grows. The trucking industry will likely be the first and hardest hit, with autonomous vehicles already being trialled by the likes of Tesla. Australia currently has 230,000 truck drivers. The retail sector, which employs one in 10 people in both Australia and America, has already been crippled by online shopping: there have been 10,000 retail closures over the last five years. But there's a counter argument that technology will create more jobs than it destroys. Is this true? "We don't know," Reed, the former domestic policy advisor to President Clinton, admitted. From there, however, his talk got more optimistic. He believes universities are the key to arresting AI-induced joblessness. The link between higher education and employment, as well as longer, healthier lives, has been well-established. His thoughts are supported by an Oxford study, which found that education will be the 'decisive factor' that determines whether one's job is affected by automation. Although a fifth of those with a tertiary degree will be at risk of job loss due to automation, this quota is much higher for those without degrees. Besides, "robots certainly have no aspiration to be VCs," he joked. Though, Reed said, universities can't remain in stasis. With a changing job market, students will demand better choice, flexibility and value. For example, Purdue University in in Lafayette, Indiana, is now offering shorter undergraduate degrees, which are cheaper as a result. Also, universities must remember and put into practice their crucial point of difference to machines: their humanity. As Reed put it, "higher learning must hone the skills that keep us human." These include a willingness to challenge orthodoxy, critical thinking, a search for meaning, and collaboration. He illustrated his point with the following example: computer algorithms may be able to ascertain how to combat climate change, but only humans can persuade others to adopt these policies. Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, who also spoke at the conference, wasn't as sanguine about universities' ability to produce employability. Although the former Director of the Centre for Translational Data at USYD thinks 'super-intelligence' – the kind that can enslave us – is a long way away, automation has already devastated blue collar jobs. For instance, by using autonomous mining vehicles, Rio Tinto has put many people out of work in Western Australia. The next jobs to be staffed by machines will be middle-class, 'predictive' ones, like law and medicine. These fields are university stalwarts. Only "jobs that require engagement with people, creative jobs, and jobs involving higher order technological skills will remain". So, Durrant-Whyte, like Reed, thinks universities will have to change their offerings. Yet unlike Reed, he believes this shift must be drastic. Millennial students, too, will have to change, Reed offered. As the global job market remains in flux during this technologically transitory period, patience and mental fortitude are increasingly required.