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Artificial intelligence could put jobs in jeopardy

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Artificial intelligence has recently become a hot course around the world as tech companies like Alibaba, Microsoft, and Google have released conversational chatbots that the everyday person can use. While we're already using AI in our daily lives, often unknowingly, these forms of computer science are very interesting to a large population.

Some are hoping to simply learn to properly use the chatbots to make extra money on the side, experiment with robot interactions, or simply catch sight of what the fuss is all about. Others, however, are hoping to inspire change and become part of the history by physically advancing AI technology alongside tech tycoons.

No matter the contribution or footprint you plan to have on such a controversial and competitive industry, there is plenty of education for you to find.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: FAQ

© iStock Artificial Intelligence is the leading innovation in technology today. iStock

Provided you are seeking a comprehensive understanding of AI and the ability to contribute to the industry, there are countless opportunities to absorb a mastery of data science, machine learning, engineering and computer skills, and more.

A Bachelor’s Degree in Science is a four-year undergraduate program and a Master’s Degree in Artificial Intelligence, while it can vary from person to person, is typically a two-year program.

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If you’re simply hoping to better grasp how to use natural language processing tools like ChatGPT or Bard, or AI image programs like Midjourney, there are a myriad of books, online courses, blogs, forums, video tutorials, and more which educate users.

Follow the social media platforms, websites, and email newsletters of artificial intelligence experts and tech titans like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or Andy Jassy, published content from AI giants like Microsoft, or general intelligence companies like OpenAI, Deepmind, and Google Brain.

Here are a few resources to get you started on understanding the basics of AI, using sophisticated artificial intelligence chatbots, the advancements and dangers of AI, its history, and more.

If you’re looking to become a contributor to the advancements in AI or develop a greater understanding of computer science, machine learning and more, consider a Bachelor of Science degree.

A Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Data and Computational Science is a degree "based on the combination of real-world computer science skills, data acquisition and analysis, scientific modeling, applied mathematics, and simulation," according to George Mason University’s site.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE QUIZ! HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW AI?

A number of universities offer a BS in Data and Computational Science. You can also seek a degree in related subjects including information technology, computer engineering, statistics, or data science. Those with a computer science, mathematics or programming background will have the fundamentals to get started with a degree to become an AI professional.

There are a multitudinous array of variations of Master’s Degrees in Artificial Intelligence around the U.S. and Canada. A few of them include the Artificial Intelligence Master’s Program Online at Johns Hopkins University, the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence at Northwestern University, and the Master’s in Artificial Intelligence at The University of Texas at Austin.

Earlier this year, Bay Area-based Google put together a competition intended to use artificial intelligence in decode sign language in real time. According to Google, the goal of the competition is to “classify isolated American Sign Language signs” using a TensorFlow Lite model.

There’s a video on YouTube about the “first-ever” ASL competition. Google announced the competition’s next phase earlier this month at its annual I/O developer conference at its Mountain View headquarters.

In an exclusive interview ahead of I/O, Sam Sepah, Google’s lead accessibility research product manager, told me via email the company’s inspiration for the ASL project comes from a sobering place. He cited a statistic that 33 babies are born in the United States every day with permanent hearing loss; 90% of these children are born to hearing parents, many of whom don’t speak sign language nor do they have to resources to learn. “Without sign language, deaf babies are at risk for having language deprivation syndrome,” Sepah said of lacking linguistic stimuli. “This syndrome is characterized by a lack of access to naturally occurring language acquisition during their critical language-learning years. It can cause serious impacts on different aspects of their lives, such as their abilities to have healthy relationships, be able to understand and access a full education, and their level of employability.”

To help minimize the communicative barrier impacting hearing parents and their deaf babies, beyond the technical goal of leveraging AI in building an assistive technology, Sepah said the practical goal is to teach parents words in ASL while giving them real-time feedback. Moreover, in an effort to bring these technologies to more people, Google has created a Kaggle fingerspelling competition that, Sepah explained to me, focuses on “translating finger-spelled words to English text.”

Distilled, the work is about the foundational part of typing: the alphabet.

When asked why the honing on fingerspelling, Sepah told me it has to do with what people use smartphones for most commonly. He explained many in the Deaf community are able to fingerspell significantly faster—“more than 200% faster,” according to Sepah—than they could type on a virtual keyboard. (As a CODA whose first language is ASL, I can confirm this. I’m much faster at fingerspelling than I am typing on my iPhone.)

“Fingerspelling is beneficial in specific use cases, such as quickly texting someone or queries that do not require many signs, such as when ordering a coffee or spelling the name of a person,” Sepah said. “Fingerspelling communicates words using hand shapes that represent individual letters. We are focusing on fingerspelling because, while fingerspelling is only a part of a sign language, it is often used for communicating names, addresses, phone numbers, and other information that is commonly entered on a mobile phone.”

At a technical level, sign language recognition AI technology currently “lags far behind” voice-to-text recognition AI, Sepah said. To help remedy this, Google Research and the Deaf Professional Arts Network have been collaborating on an initiative to develop what Sepah described as a “massive fingerspelling dataset” that he said will be open-sourced in an effort to iterate on the technology and move it forward. An overarching goal is to advance the language learning model such that people who cannot use their voice to summon digital assistants and other tech—many in the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities fall into this category—have access to said products. Many signing users are excluded from using voice-first technologies because the interface paradigms don’t take non-verbal people into account, thus restricting access to many devices. “These AI solutions will allow the Deaf and hard of hearing community to more easily communicate with technologies, including Google products, and the hearing community face-to-face, by signing on their phone as opposed to typing or speaking,” Sepah said.

Sepah mentioned the PopSign app, available on Android and on iOS, as one piece of software that uses an AI sign language model. The app, developed by Google in partnership with the Rochester Institute of Technology and Georgia Institute of Technology, aims to, he said, “improve language acquisitions, enabling hearing parents who have Deaf children to learn sign language vocabularies with real time feedback.”

In terms of feedback, Sepah told me it’s been “overwhelmingly positive” across the entire organization, from engineers and senior executives alike. He added many Googlers (the colloquial name for Google employees) spanning various teams have “recognized the value” of all the work being done in this realm, saying it represents an important step towards making Google more accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people everywhere. Indeed, Sepah said the software Google is making will go a long way in helping deaf and hard-of-hearing people “communicate more effectively with people around the world, and, most importantly, provide them with access to the world’s information.”

He continued: “We [at Google] share a common goal: to ensure that sign language is provided as a universal language option for Deaf and hard of hearing people when using our products. Deaf users are empowered when they have the choice to use their native language, have access to information, and can learn, grow, and make informed decisions about their lives. They can also connect with others and build relationships.”

Broadly, Sepah explained to me the sign language technology fits squarely with Google’s institutional mantra of collecting and organizing the world’s information in an accessible and useful manner. Furthermore, he said the company’s principles around AI also support this mission, as the ASL project is “directly useful” to members of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. To paraphrase Google’s ethos, the ASL project is empowering for current and future generations using technology for the common good. “With Google’s sign language tools, I believe that deaf people will continue to achieve great things by getting more education and real-world content through AI technologies,” Sepah said of Google’s contributions to this cause. “I believe the Deaf community will continue to grow and thrive, including being able to escape poverty. I’m excited to see what the future holds for deaf people.”

Sepah was hurry to emphasize the sociocultural importance of Google’s work, which extends far beyond the technological merits. Sign languages the world over, he said, are “beautiful and expressive languages” that have their own grammatical rules and vocabularies. “They are not simply a visual representation of a spoken language,” Sepah said.

More than being linguistically unique, Sepah said recognizing sign languages is recognizing the human rights of those who use them.

“Sign language is inseparable from deaf people’s human rights,” he said. “Respecting the individual rights of Deaf people to use sign language is essential for ensuring they have equal access to education, employment, and all other aspects of life. When deaf people are able to communicate in their own language, they are able to participate fully in society.”

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

At the University of Minnesota at Morris, faculty members who need to miss a class session are asked to not cancel class but to allow staff members to present workshops to students instead.

The Don’t Cancel That Class Initiative offers workshops around holistic student success to the campus community, with guidance on learning strategies, health and well-being, and financial wellness, among other topics.  

The initiative serves not only as a learning experience for students, whether that’s in the classroom or at an extracurricular group or activity, but also as a way for student success practitioners to understand students’ needs and provide faculty members with tools to have similar conversations with students.

What it is: The Don’t Cancel that Class Initiative began in fall 2018 as a way to unify workshop offerings across the institution. Prior, faculty members would reach out to individual offices with specific workshop requests for their courses, which could be clunky or more time-consuming.

Staff from the library, career services, McNair Scholars, one-stop center, counseling and wellness, the student success division, and the equity, diversity and intercultural programs lead the various workshops.

Academic assistance coordinator Keni Zenner and first-year experience coordinator Emily Johnson first compiled the workshops and descriptions and shared the list with faculty members before the start of the initial semester.

“They could put them in their course syllabi, if they knew they were going to be away for a conference,” Zenner shares. “Or, honestly, if they just wanted to have us talk about these academic strategies, we have the workshops already put together so we didn’t have to do that after a request came through.”

Current workshop offerings are identified on one website, which makes outreach easier and increases visibility of all service offerings across campus. Workshop Topics include library research, identifying values, developing résumés, LGBTQ+ issues, international education, graduate school preparation, financial wellness, mindfulness, stress management, test preparation and note taking, among others.

Sometimes faculty members schedule one-off workshops to cover an absence for personal or professional reasons, like attending a conference, but some professors incorporate workshops into their syllabi every term.

One example is UMM’s organic chemistry course, a 200-level offering for biology students, which receives a time management workshop every term from a student success staff member.

How it works: To book a workshop, the directing student, faculty or staff members will fill out an online form from the appropriate office that leads the desired session.

While each office has its own workshop Google form, the questions and information required are the same, including contact information, desired workshop length, attendee information, location and three options for date and time.

Upon receiving the form, a staff member will coordinate scheduling the workshop with the requesting professor and their colleagues.

Most workshops are offered during traditional working hours, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., but staff can accommodate after-hours requests by teaching workshop materials to another community member in lieu of presenting it themselves.

The workshop lasts for around 50 minutes and most class periods run 65 minutes, leaving time for reflection or class announcements, as needed.

“We find that depth is important with a lot of these topics,” Zenner says. “Just presenting information and kind of talking at students is not particularly helpful … All of the workshops have some sort of collaborative learning component.”

A way Zenner has made her workshops collaborative is by inviting a teaching assistant or an older student to talk to a class about their experiences to make the discussion more relatable.

Following the workshop, students may complete an assessment like answering a brief response question on a note card or taking a survey.

The impact: Workshop leaders saw “really tremendous response from that very first semester,” Zenner says. “We have a little over 1,000 students, and we got 584 student contact hours in the first semester we tried this.”

Most sessions led by the student success division took place in first-year, introductory courses, but also some third- and fourth-year courses like senior seminars to talk about reflection strategies or time management during busy semesters.

Since fall 2018, workshop requests have stayed steady, but a little lower over all, which Zenner attributes to faculty gleaning ideas from past workshops and hosting their own discussions, rather than inviting an outside speaker to facilitate. UMM also launched a first-year experience course in recent years, which diminished the need for some of the student success-focused workshops.

For the staff, having a streamlined workshop request flow has saved time and energy in workshop design, scheduling and data tracking.

Looking ahead, Zenner is hoping to revise some of the programming to better address the present student needs in a post-pandemic academic setting. Rather than focusing on pure skill building, she’s hoping to empower students to identify where they are college-ready and build from previous habits.

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I am the founder of Gotham, a legal cannabis concept store. I emphasize the word legal because, despite what most New Yorkers probably think, there are currently only seven legal cannabis dispensaries in all of New York City. The thousands of other shops you see on almost every corner are unlicensed, unregulated, and illegal. 

New York State had good intentions when they rolled out the first opportunities to apply for a legal dispensary license last November. The first licenses were made available only to those formerly incarcerated for cannabis offenses and to nonprofit organizations that support and uplift this cohort. The idea was to create a cannabis industry that attempts to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs. 

I applaud the state for these efforts. But that vision is far from reality. Hundreds of licenses have been issued, but few stores have actually open. It is not easy to get a lease due to stigma or insurance concerns, and adhering to rules and regulations is costly. 

The biggest issue for those who have opened, such as Gotham, is attempting to compete in an oversaturated illegal landscape. 

The latest estimates from Governor Hochul put the illegal cannabis market in New York at over 2,500 stores, many of which systematically evade crackdowns efforts due to baffling legal loopholes and shady landlords. And this harms everyone.

Over the next decade, the cannabis industry will generate thousands of jobs and billions in tax revenue. Cannabis is a $33 billion industry projected to grow to $150 billion by 2030. New York State is already losing billions of dollars annually by failing to take on my illegal competitors. We have no idea where the illegal stores are sourcing and purchasing their products. They are not following the rigorous safety and security protocols put in place by the Office of Cannabis Management and, more than likely, are not paying their fair share of taxes to either New York State or the Federal government. 

We’re competing against the thousands of illegal shops that are selling faster, cheaper, and with no oversight. That hurts our full-time employees who receive profit sharing and full health insurance, and it hurts our beneficiary partner STRIVE and its mission is to reduce prison recidivism. Couple that with the lack of consumer education on what’s legal and what’s not, and you have a near-impossible path to profitability (or accountability).

It is time to take action. We need more legal stores to open. They need to generate more local tax revenue. And we need local farmers to benefit from growing legal cannabis. We must assist small-sized cannabis businesses to flourish while benefiting worthy social causes. 

All this is doable, but it’s also costly. I’ve invested in over 150 companies, focusing on female, black, and brown founders. But setting up a legal shop in NYC has been exceptionally frustrating.

Assuming you can actually obtain a license, you need a deep understanding of the tax code — despite the lack of tax deductions afforded to any other small business. At the Federal level, a law called 280E forbids cannabis store operators from deducting ordinary business expenses since cannabis is still a Schedule I controlled substance.

Then comes the operation costs, including hundreds of security cameras that run tens of thousands of dollars to install and operate, plus a robust full-time security team, both required by law. Then you need inventory management software because each transaction must be meticulously reported per the Office of Cannabis Management, and that’s expensive. You can’t lose a single bud without repercussions. 

Now we’re on to pricing. Because there are no tax deductions allowed, the price of cannabis products are higher than those in the illegal market. If the government had taxed tech start-ups the same way they’re taxing cannabis startups, I guarantee we would not have Google.  

I’ve never been much of a rule follower, but when it comes to cannabis and taxes, I’m buttoned up – and beyond. Why are illegal dispensaries allowed to profit without following the rules? Why aren’t they required to secure a license and act responsibly? There is plenty of market share for everyone. Let’s support a new industry by empowering people who’ve done things the right way. 

The grass can certainly be greener. 

Joanne Wilson is the Founder of Gotham, Founder of Gotham Gal Ventures, Co-Chair of Gotham Gives and Co-Founder of the Women’s Entrepreneur Festival.  

HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Office of Public Instruction announced a new partnership with Discovery Education on Thursday.

The worldwide education technology leader has digital resources that help aid instruction.

This partnership will run multiple years, granting all public-school districts across the state permission to use digital content that fits Montana's K-12 Content Standards.

The Montana Office of Public Instruction and Discovery Education released the following information:

Superintendent Elsie Arntzen today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education, a worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital resources support instruction wherever it takes place. Through this multi-year partnership, the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is providing all 402 public school districts statewide access to a curated collection of high-quality, grade-level appropriate, digital content aligned to Montana’s rigorous K-12 Content Standards.

This partnership is funded through the federal COVID relief Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds and supports core instruction across Montana. In addition, this collaboration supports:

• the state’s workforce readiness
• rural education
• Native American tribal history and culture
• parent and family engagement initiatives

Montana School Superintendents can activate their school district’s Discovery Education account by visiting this website.

“This partnership grows student learning both in and out of the classroom,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “The parental and family engagement aspect of Discovery Education will strengthen our Montana students’ success. I encourage all of our schools to take advantage of this great teaching and learning opportunity.”

The dynamic digital content now available to Montana’s teachers, students, and families is delivered through Discovery Education’s K-12 learning platform. Connecting educators to a vast collection of high-quality, standards-aligned content and professional learning resources, Discovery Education facilitates engaging, daily instruction in any environment. These resources, sourced from trusted partners, are aligned to state and national standards, and help educators bring the outside world into teaching and learning every day. Through expanded, lasting partnerships with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Brightspace, and Clever, integrating Discovery Education’s K-12 learning platform into existing IT architecture is easier than ever.

As part of this new partnership, Montana’s educators will also receive ongoing professional learning designed to help them realize the return on the state’s edtech investment. In addition, the state’s educators will also receive the support of the Discovery Education Network. This global community of education professionals connects members in school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.

“Discovery Education is excited to support the state of Montana’s efforts to provide all teachers and parents the tools and resources needed to put students first,” said Coni Rechner, Discovery Education’s Senior Vice President of State & Strategic Partnership. “Superintendent Arntzen and her talented team have created an innovative vision for education in the Big Sky state, and Discovery Education is proud to support their efforts.”

Montana school leaders interested in learning more about the resources available through this partnership can visit Discovery Education’s Montana state partnership website for more details.

Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer at Google and HBCU alum.

Both the NBA Foundation and Google utilize a similar ethos, particularly with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), to ensure the success and education of young Black people.

The NBA Foundation and Google seek to lead through building equity and diversity. The NBA Foundation is the League’s first-ever charitable foundation dedicated to Black communities. Google has a commitment to community advancement and investing in programs that develop youth through skill-building and career readiness. This led to a natural affinity with the NBA HBCU Fellowship Program, which aims to provide career development opportunities in the business of basketball.

Recently, representatives from both Google and the NBA HBCU Fellowship Program were able to get together for a fireside chat that focused on the impact of HBCUs and Google’s commitment to serving the youth through technology.

Participants in the discourse were Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer at Google, and NBA HBCU Fellowship Program alums Antonae Glenn and Jevone Barrett. Parker leads the HBCU Presidents Council at Google which supports 100+ HBCUs. Glenn is a junior at Howard University majoring in Computer Information Systems and interned with the Charlotte Hornets. Barrett graduated from Central State University in December 2022 and accepted a full-time position with the Cavaliers in February 2023 working in their IT department.

Editor’s Note: The following conversation has been condensed and edited.

What has been the most valuable thing that you have learned from attending an HBCU and how has that applied to navigating your career journey?

Melonie Parker: I’m a first-generation college student, and I had the pleasure of doing this at Hampton University. The community support that I received has been invaluable, and I didn’t have to think about race. So in that formative part of my personal, professional and academic development, race was not on the table.

I had the beauty of strong relationships with my professors who encouraged and motivated me, and who really gave me the confidence that I could do things that I hadn’t even thought about or had exposure to. Community is not monolithic, so [I was exposed] to different types of people and groups within Black communities as well. That whole experience has been something that has propelled me and carried me and I have an incredible network that I still maintain from Hampton and across other HBCUs.

Jevone Barrett: One of the most valuable things I learned was how to be your authentic self. My HBCU reminded me that, hey, if you’re in a room with executives, then you’re supposed to be there. Regardless of whether or not you’re not on the same ‘level’, if you just happen to be in the room, you’re supposed to be there.

Jevone Barrett participated in the NBA’s HBCU Fellowship program before taking a full-time job with the Cavaliers.

I would also say how to do more with less, and at a small HBCU (Central State University in Ohio), one thing I can say is that the professors really instill in you that you are the best and you can make impacts wherever you go. Whether you go to Google, another large company or your own personal brand.

Antonae Glenn: As a Howard student, I will say the most important thing I learned is how to network. Your network is your net worth. Last summer, I was able to exercise this over the course of the NBA HBCU Fellowship. My entire team went to NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and I was the only person in the office. So I decided to ask my manager if he could set up some meetings for me with different people around the organization. I was able to speak with the Vice President of Digital Media and got to write an article about my experience of getting a fellowship. That wouldn’t have happened had I not reached out and created a network.

Why is it important for companies like the NBA and Google to create these types of opportunities for HBCU students, and what do you see them gaining from it?

Parker: It’s so important that we are drawing and recognizing talent from our HBCUs, and that we’re providing pathways and pipelines for people to have access to roles. Not just at Google and not just at the NBA, but to facilitate the acquisition of skills that you could take anywhere in the industry that you want, including an entrepreneurship route if that’s what you select for yourself. We’re better because of the talent that we bring in from our HBCUs. It informs our relevancy and gaps that we may have in culture and lived experiences, and it makes our workforce stronger. It’s a win-win on all sides.

Melonie, can you expand upon some of the programs that are meaningful to you and how that work helps students build career readiness?

Parker: One is our Google in Residence program. We provide our own software engineering professionals that go to HBCU campuses and teach freshman computer science courses for the entire semester. So they’re not only giving uplift to the students, they’re also giving uplift to the professors by introducing real-world, real-life tech experiences to the classroom. In many curricula, to have that early orientation taught by someone in tech from Google is critically important and that person is also able to help students with internships and extracurricular activities.

We also have a program called Tech Exchange, a hybrid experience where students get credit through their universities for participating in our Googler and Faculty co-led courses online. Students and their instructors also get to visit two different Google sites during the semester, experiencing our offices and culture in real-time.

As part of Google’s commitment to supporting Black jobseekers, Grow with Google partners with HBCU career services centers across the United States to help Black college students develop the digital skills they need to find and secure internships and jobs that will help them build successful careers.

We also have summer internship opportunities, where the goal is to supply students a chance to learn throughout the summer in hopes of creating pathways to bring them back in full-time roles.

Can you share how your interest in the NBA intersects with your interest in STEM, tech, and engineering?

Glenn: I was a basketball operations and analytics intern [at the Hornets], so I was able to combine my college studies with my interest in basketball. I was on the operations side during my internship, so that was more so ‘How can we prepare better for this team?’

Antonae Glenn, a junior at Howard University and NBA HBCU Fellowship program alum, interned with the Charlotte Hornets.

The big thing that was going on during the summer was the draft, so I did a lot of work on that in terms of running models to see what players we thought would be available at our draft picks of 13 and 15. So it was actually very interesting to take things that I did in the classroom like database management and apply it in real life.

What advice would you supply HBCU students looking to start a corporate career?

Parker: My best advice would be to get an internship, and you need to network. Network with your friends and fully leverage the career planning and placement office on your campus to work for you. Get as much experience as you can if you want paid internships, but if for some reason it’s not available, get experience by volunteering as well, and do job shadowing and claim all of that on your résumé.

Barrett: Also apply to multiple companies, not just one. I know freshmen tend to ask me a lot. ‘I want to work at the NBA, can you share someone for me to connect with?’ I mention that it’s extremely competitive but if you don’t get picked, don’t let that disappoint you. Apply to multiple jobs and just be prepared to hear some no’s. But it’s not a rejection. Stay persistent. That’s my best advice.

Glenn: Over-prepare. If you over-prepare, you’re always going to be ready when the opportunity comes.

In November, Google Pixel announced a $1 million contribution to the NBA Foundation, the largest for the Foundation to date from an NBA partner. The donation will directly support the NBA HBCU Fellowship Program and other NBA Foundation programming, initiatives and partners. Together, the NBA Foundation and Google will continue to collaborate on programming and efforts to create opportunities for Black youth in STEM, sports and media industries.

* * *

To learn more about Google’s contribution to the NBA Foundation, visit the links below:

“NBA Foundation receives record $1M contribution from Google Pixel”

“Helping students launch a career in sports.”

In 2017, our institution wanted to introduce an online executive education programme from one of the world's top universities in Bangladesh to Boost 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 course another day.

Today's course 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 Boost 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.