Once seen primarily by businesses as a tool for streamlining factory operations, artificial intelligence is now transforming nearly every industry—including the knowledge-based professions long associated with upward mobility and wealth creation.
Microsoft and LinkedIn conducted a global survey of 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed knowledge workers—those who typically work at a desk—and the data revealed that 75% of them use AI in their jobs.
AI is quickly becoming an essential tool that all college students will use in their careers. Weaving AI into the curricula will be crucial for equipping students for careers that are evolving as quickly as technology is. Institutions must prioritize AI literacy as a core component of college education to prepare students for daily collaboration with AI technologies.
And yet, some college leaders have voiced hesitations, citing AI’s potential for misuse rather than its ability to help students succeed.
In some ways, this apprehension is understandable. The rapid ascent of generative AI—machine-learning models trained to create new data like text, images, and even audio and video—has the potential to change daily life in tangible and, in some cases, unexpected ways.
Inconsistent adoption
It is important to remember that AI, in some form, has been quietly reshaping how we learn, work and live for years. Various institutions use artificially intelligent chatbots to help answer basic student support questions and direct students to where they can find the information and support resources they need.
Many colleges have adopted these tools with comparatively little controversy or fanfare. Yet now that advances in AI are poised to transform work and learning, institutions are showing surprising reluctance.
So far, the sector’s response has resulted in inconsistent adoption of the technology, a pattern that is fueling considerable disparities in how students can learn with and about AI. According to a recent survey of chief academic officers by Inside Higher Ed, only two in 10 provosts say their institution has published a policy or policies governing the use of AI.
Just 14% of colleges and university provosts have reviewed their curriculums to ensure they prepare students for AI’s increasing role in the workplace.
The Chronicle of Higher Education analyzed its job board and found that AI-related job listings more than doubled between 2022 and 2023, with postings concentrated among a few institutions. In 2023, the same five colleges and universities listed nearly half of the AI-related postings on The Chronicle’s job board.
If these trendlines continue, higher education risks creating a new digital divide—a system where access to AI-driven learning and career opportunities is unevenly and unfairly distributed, creating haves and have-nots.
Institutions are responsible for thoughtfully confronting—rather than retreating from—AI and its impact on the workforce.
AI-driven workforce ahead
Fortunately, some colleges and universities are starting to recognize the critical need to make AI tools and training accessible and inclusive, equipping students from all backgrounds to leverage the technology in their chosen careers confidently.
Earlier this year, the nonprofit, Complete College America launched its Council on Equitable AI. Bringing together representatives from more than a dozen colleges and organizations, the Council aims to disrupt the systemic inequities that shape the adoption of AI, influence the priorities of AI vendors, and inform the work of researchers.
Many colleges and universities also acknowledge the need to better prepare students from historically underserved backgrounds for AI-driven careers. For instance, Amazon Web Services’ Machine Learning University has partnered with community colleges, minority-serving institutions and historically Black colleges and universities nationwide to widen access to database, AI and machine learning concepts.
Earlier this year, Miami Dade College and a coalition of community colleges launched the National Applied Artificial Intelligence Consortium, which will tap a $2.8 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant to improve the quality of AI training programs at community colleges.
At Capella, we work to infuse AI into the curricula and have launched dedicated AI courses available at no cost, allowing our busy working adult students to quickly learn how to use AI on the job.
Just a few years ago, few could have fully predicted the speed with which AI would permeate nearly every industry. However, one thing is certain: the higher education sector cannot take a wait-and-see approach. Failing to prepare students for a workplace where they will increasingly be expected to operate with AI will do them a disservice.
As technology evolves rapidly, institutions that hesitate to embrace its advancements risk disadvantaging their students. Proactively engaging with AI can ensure all students equally benefit from and are prepared for the technology’s inevitable impact.
