(TNS) — In a world where smart machines can talk, create ordinary art, and analyze data, what exactly is education?
Ever since ChatGPT was announced last fall, heralding the rise of artificial intelligence models that can write college papers and generate computer code at least as competently as the average undergraduate, my inbox has been filled with anxiety and excitement about what this means for schools and universities.
I recently joined a group of faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill to discuss AI and education, and opinions around the table ranged from cautious optimism to apocalyptic panic. But what was most interesting was how a deep conversation about AI quickly turned into an even deeper conversation about humanity. It's easy to identify the tasks you want to outsource to machines or algorithms. But deciding what you want to keep for yourself – how you want to use your brain and time – forces you to ask some very basic questions about what defines a good and meaningful life. This is an argument that requires at least as many philosophers as computer scientists.
Asking students to think through these big questions is harder and more important than making sure they're mastering the latest innovations. My friend Molly Worthen, who teaches history at Carolina University and has written extensively about higher education, would like to see the university return to its monastic roots and offer introductory courses that eschew screens in favor of old-fashioned reading and in-person discussion.
“When universities immerse students in the latest technology from the moment they step on campus, they don't have the opportunity to develop necessary communication and concentration skills,” she says. “Students must mature as writers and thinkers and learn the value of quiet contemplation before being able to manage technology as a tool rather than becoming its captive.” This approach could help rebuild attention spans and emphasize the authentic relationships that young people struggle with on a large scale.
The U.S. Surgeon General released a dire report last week showing a sharp increase in isolation among Americans of all ages, but especially among young people. “About half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, with the highest rates among young adults,” the report warns. For Americans ages 15 to 24, “time spent in person with friends has declined by nearly 70 percent over nearly two decades, from about 150 minutes per day in 2003 to about 40 minutes per day in 2020.” Meanwhile, the percentage of teens who say they're online “almost always” has doubled since 2015.
College should be a great opportunity to combat that sad tendency and emphasize the power of friendship and connection to build a joyful life. If you give your students another reason to stare at a shiny glass rectangle all day long, it's less likely.
Some of the most dystopian predictions about the rise of AI that I have seen deal with the possibility of AI replacing human connections with digital substitutes. Companies already offer algorithmic “companions” that purport to provide good friendship without imposing the onerous reciprocal obligations that genuine consideration entails.
“Today's AI chatbots are more human-like and empathetic than ever before,” writes Silicon Valley venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz in one of the most disturbing corporate blog posts I've ever read. “But they're not actually humans, so they don't carry the same baggage that humans do. Chatbots don't gossip about us behind our backs, ghost us, or undermine us. Instead, they're here to offer us nonjudgmental friendship and a safe space when we need to speak freely.”
Call me old-fashioned, but I'm willing to accept the occasional gossip and judgment from my living friends regarding the hollow validation of chatty statistical models. Teaching students to embrace the joys and challenges of authentic relationships—to be more interesting and human than algorithms—means regaining some of the ground that traditional humanities fields have lost in recent decades.
I don't know if that means turning college campuses into modern-day monasteries, but it definitely means spending more time with our heads reading and our hearts talking. We can't beat robots in terms of efficiency, so let's be more human.
Contributing columnist Eric Johnson lives in Chapel Hill. He works for the UNC System and the University Commission and can be reached at ericjohnson@unc.edu.
©2023 Charlotte Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
