AI in higher education: Will we miss the train again?

In 2017, our institution wanted to introduce an online executive education programme from one of the world's top universities in Bangladesh to improve mid-level Bangladeshi managers' skills. When the partner university requested a letter from the Bangladeshi government approving online education, the process halted. No one knew who would formally confirm online education was allowed in Bangladesh, even though students had been studying at some of the world's top universities from Bangladesh for years.

By 2017, Information Communication Technologies had become the cornerstone of a new way of life that created the Information Society and its educational system. Computers have generated hope that technology will transform education since the 1950s. 

By then, ICT and the digital revolution had significantly impacted the education system, and universities worldwide had fully harnessed their power to increase education accessibility, cost, and quality. Bangladesh's higher education system has avoided the digital revolution despite its internet prevalence. Discussing this opinion's reasoning is pointless.

Covid-19 followed. The loss of precious lives and support distressed us. However, education at all levels suffered, and the long-term effects are unknown. It was understandable that primary, intermediate, and upper secondary schools were not equipped for a pandemic. But we were most surprised by the tertiary education sector, particularly universities' incapacity to pivot during a humanitarian catastrophe. 

During this time, universities' weak technological foundation, teachers' unwillingness and inability to offer online teaching and learning, and the lack of coherent and consistent policies and guidance regarding online teaching and assessment, students without laptops or desktop computers at home and their inability to intellectually navigate the digital world were exposed. 

While it is admirable that many universities jumped into online teaching and learning without preparation, but it was evident Bangladeshi higher education has failed to capitalise on the digital revolution. 

Despite institutions around the world trying to reinvent teaching and learning and make higher education relevant to Generation Z, we seem to be under pressure to return to the pre-pandemic age. But let's discuss this topic another day.

Today's topic required a lengthy introduction. We've been aware of AI's advances for years, but ChatGPT's arrival on November 30, 2022, woke up the higher education system and the world. In my lifetime and nearly decade-long academic career, I have never seen two forces with the potential to transform higher education globally and in Bangladesh. Generation Z and ChatGPT's rapid expansion are the two. 

By spring 2023, ChatGPT and other AI-based techniques eliminated six of the top 10 marketing careers I encouraged my students to pursue the year before. Unfortunately, after nearly six months, I haven't seen many discussions and planning sessions in the higher education ecosystem about accelerating AI adoption. Higher education executives have felt dread and tried to ignore the situation. 

I worry that, like the digital revolution, we, again, won't be able to employ AI to improve higher education. ChatGPT and other AI technologies, as well as Generation Z, present interrelated difficulties and opportunities. The higher education system needs one to govern the other.

This paper will not explain the intricacies of ChatGPT in academia. Given AI's rapid development, predicting its long-term effects is pointless. I want to make the point that universities should embrace ChatGPT and AI rather than fear them to keep higher education relevant to Bangladeshi students and avoid making the same mistake we did during the digital revolution. ChatGPT is not Google. Therefore school administrators must carefully assess how this new technology affects teaching and learning. 

AI and other technologies in colleges and universities increase access to higher education regardless of location. As location and time become irrelevant and curiosity, creativity, and collaboration are encouraged, students and universities become global. A Stanford University research, Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030, shows how students might be linked with interactive computer tutors for more targeted and personalised learning.

Based on my research and personal experience using AI-based tools like DALL-E-2 to design admission posts for social media and the AI-based business gaming platform "Wharton Interactive" developed by Wharton Business School to teach my students, allow me to try to persuade Bangladeshi higher education leaders to adopt AI to strengthen the higher education ecosystem.

Velocity starts the intersection between higher education and AI. Google enabled quick answers. DALL-E and CONTENTBOT have been helping me manage the ULAB MBA social media pages, saving me four hours per week. I expect to spend that four hours researching new AI tools. But in the long run, this will free up my academic mind to pursue new opportunities, apply my time and energy to research, and tackle new challenges. This could boost academic potential and accelerate advancements.

I understand that speed may compromise comprehension. Think about Google Maps. Entering two places into your phone won't confuse you anymore and will take you to your unknown destination in the shortest possible time. Simple and effective. These days, paper maps, personal knowledge, and trial and error to navigate are unacceptable. 

However, the latter improved our understanding of local geography and how streets, neighbourhoods, and cities fit together. AI learning is similar. Searching for an answer doesn't guarantee we understand the question. When we use powerful computers to examine an incomprehensibly enormous universe of data and derive conclusions, we may miss important connections or new discoveries.

AI tools like ChatGPT will not replace good judgement and critical thinking anytime soon. ChatGPT isn't a substitute for judgement. ChatGPT replies and resources may be biased, wrong, or create privacy, morality, and intellectual property concerns. ChatGPT teaches students how artificial intelligence systems work, how to query simple replies, uncover bias, explore problematic claims, apply logic, and develop critical arguments.

ChatGPT or AI may revive creativity in higher education. ChatGPT can produce a good paper, but it can't use emotions or convey a story. It can draw from all works but cannot create something new. It can answer but not ask. I've taught Consumer Behavior and Strategic Management using Wharton Interactive, an AI-powered game-based learning system, as a business professor. Playing these games with students can make business courses more engaging, even though there are only ten available now. Game-based learning targets Generation Z students, who need instant satisfaction to stay engaged. 

However, even though AI helps students compete, winning depends solely on asking the right question. Analytical, critical, and problem-solving skills are needed to ask the right question. It will also require teamwork, listening, and adaptability.  Liberal arts education will undoubtedly become more important in a higher education system dominated by AI.

A world with unparalleled racial, religious, cultural, and economic division would benefit from AI-supported higher education graduates who will manage organisations and communities.  Mixed reality with computer vision can produce an engaging, high-fidelity environment. 

Simulations and games engage students and make learning easier. They can also get students involved in academic research by co-creating knowledge. The tools also allow non-university students to participate in scientific discoveries through global classrooms.

There is little doubt that teaching will need to evolve, and that educators will need to undergo a significant mental transformation. In the era of AI, Bloom's taxonomy may not be able to capture the complete spectrum of learning outcomes and experiences in higher education.  This transition towards a greater emphasis on problem-solving in education will be crucial in preparing students for a world dominated by AI that is undergoing rapid change. 

It is currently impossible to predict the timing and nature of changes in teaching and learning, but it will be essential in higher education for students to be able to create their own meaning from the material they have learned by actively engaging with the content, critically reflecting on their own experiences and perspectives, connecting the material to their personal and professional goals, and synthesising new ideas and information.

This opinion piece is to encourage Bangladeshi higher education leaders to start local and international conversations about AI and its impact on higher education to prepare for an inevitable landscape shift. Digital transformation and Industry 4.0 are changing every industry. University leadership must embrace Education 4.0 to be relevant.

We saw how resisting the digital revolution cost possibilities. Higher education institutions that refuse to modify or incorporate AI will lose their competitive edge. Only change is everlastingly constant. Acceptance of change will be essential for all institutions in higher education to stay relevant. Marie Curie, one of my favourite physicists, once said, "Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood." We should start learning now. 

Asif U Ahmed is a Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Business Programme, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.