‘The Dean of AI’ Publisher Explores the Future of Education

Alex Goryachev, bestselling author, strategist and publisher of the Dean of AI, put recent AI technological advancements into perspective at a special lecture hosted by the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, Jonsson School dean and holder of the Lars Magnus Ericsson chair, was captivated by Goryachev’s talk at a Frontiers in Education Conference hosted by the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

“I hear a lot of speakers, and when I heard Alex, I knew his message needed to be heard by the larger UT Dallas community,” said Adams, also a professor of systems engineering. “As Richard Riley said, ‘We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t know are problems yet.’ This is our essential task as educators. Alex has important insights about how AI will affect education, the workforce and society, both today and years ahead.”

Goryachev described the historical timeframe of several innovations, illustrating how powerful companies that dominated the market at the time have since disappeared. For example, Blockbuster Video, a video rental chain that dominated the market in the 1990s, struggled to stay competitive and adapt to the proliferation of digital video, ultimately filing for bankruptcy in 2010. It is only available today as a novelty Airbnb, Goryachev said.

Numerous companies that were dominant in the late 1990s struggled to adapt to innovations like the proliferation of the internet, the digital camera and even social media. In most cases, the companies that did not survive had struggled with other internal weaknesses that made it difficult for them to adapt to market shifts through new technology, Goryachev said.

Unlike some innovations, however, the adoption of AI has taken place at such a breathtaking speed that people are frightened about its implications, such as displacing people from their jobs.

While Goryachev stated that up to 40% of the global workforce will require reskilling and that 50% of today’s work activities will be automated by 2045, AI should not be used as a justification for mass layoffs, but rather as an opportunity to maximize potential.

“For some companies, 20% headcount reduction is the goal, but I believe their research and development is misaligned,” Goryachev said.

He continued to say that companies struggle to keep up with the future for additional reasons including lack of innovation, obsession with efficiency and overall culture. According to the Gartner curve, Goryachev believes that we are at the peak of inflated expectations about AI.

“It’s rarely the future that kills companies,” Goryachev said. “It’s mostly their past.”

Higher education faces unique challenges, particularly given that AI can outperform humans on numerous tasks, including standardized testing, Goryachev said. Aside from critical interpersonal and social skills, the technological knowledge and skills students gain during a degree program remain current for approximately five years, meaning that they will need to continually update their skills throughout their lives.

Additionally, Goryachev reminded faculty and staff of their important roles in modeling, moderating and curating tools for students to maximize their learning.

“AI doesn’t threaten education — complacency does,” Goryachev said.

Dr. Julia Hsu, professor of materials science and engineering and holder of the Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair in Nanoelectronics, asked Goryachev how he would approach AI with his own son and how he would explain the value of education to him. Goryachev explained that while a school AI policy is an absolute must for him as a parent, he recognizes that AI by itself is not a solution.

“AI is a tool,” Goryachev said. “I wouldn’t trust AI by itself with developing a learning plan. Educators have a much bigger objective.”

For educators, he said, there will be numerous opportunities to study the effects of AI on human cognition, as well as opportunities to utilize the technology to streamline certain administrative tasks.

“There’s a neuroscience function in human learning,” Goryachev said. “It’s a necessity for us to develop as humans.”