AI companies like OpenAI are insinuating themselves into the pathway from education to work. Soon they may claim it entirely, a disastrous result for students. We know that students are using AI at school and at university.
In conversations with those I teach, I’m struck by the trust many place in it. They turn to ChatGPT and similar tools for personal problems as well as study help. Some even doubt their abilities without AI.
Institutions are working hard to adapt. But we need to urgently look up from the use of AI to pay attention to big AI companies’ attempts to take over the educational pipeline, else we lose sight of the people that matter, our students. The industry has spent the past few years making our young people afraid of unemployment.
Now it’s claiming to have a solution: more AI. On a website introducing its new certification programs, OpenAI gives a peek into the bigger picture. The company says it wants to “connect learning, certification and real economic opportunity in one clear journey, laying the foundation for our upcoming OpenAI Jobs Platform”.
That means offering education, credentials and access to work – owning the entire pipeline, infusing AI at every step. The company is positioning itself to directly compete with universities. I don’t mean that we’ll soon see shiny new ChatGPT campuses.
These companies don’t need to build a university out of bricks and mortar to take over key parts of higher education. They already own the tools where learning and work are increasingly happening – next, they can compete with universities by brokering access to employment. As big AI companies search for a business model beyond subscriptions, universities need to be alert to this threat and urgently protect their position.
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