The impact of robotics and AI
Can you imagine a university class with no teachers and students? The student will be sitting home studying on his iPad or maybe even a more advanced machine, from a robot on the other end. Practical work might be managed via virtual reality. This might be the future of education, especially at the university level. Find out more about the predictions and see how this will affect the education industry.
Robots and artificial intelligence are affecting every field of life. Artificial intelligence can make simple diagnoses while robot surgeons are also being used in more developed nations. A report by the University of Oxford, “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerization?”, consider technological advancement a threat for almost 50% of US jobs.
Taking a look at education, it is believed that soon universities will not be needed. The jobs for which universities are preparing their students will be done by machines. Schools and colleges need to look at this very seriously but all they are doing is simply adding an IT and/or programming course. Online education is already a rising trend. In the future, it is expected that tutors will be robots also. Thus institutes and governments around the globe should accept these developments and work towards them.
According to the co-founder of the Bulgarian Software Engineering University, Svetlin Nakov, elementary skills will not be in demand in twenty to thirty years time. Only highly qualified personnel will be needed to run machines and robots. Sofia, the capital of Balgaria, has had the biggest GDP growth in the past 10 years. The Mayor of Sofia believes that “education is the most important factor for the future of labor.”
There will be more flexibility and improvement in work conditions. However, flexibility also means uncertainty. According to the EU Commissioner, medium level jobs will disappear while digital skills-oriented jobs will rise. Even currently about 90% of jobs require such expertise while only 40% of Europe’s population has such skills.
When we were kids our parents got reasonable jobs with a Bachelors degree while those with a Masters degree were offered good opportunities. We needed a Masters to get a respectable job but today you need a Ph.D. to get a decent offer! Things are changing in many ways but now they are changing at a fast pace and our education system needs to keep up with these trends. If schools could focus more on practical aspects of education rather than simply memorizing things like Urdu idioms, English to Urdu translation and other such things which are not of any use in the real-life, it will benefit the society in the long run.
On a more positive note, as industries are transforming, there will be a demand for new skills and therefore the approach to education and training needs a change as well. Thorough research is required at the national level so that the education system can be adjusted accordingly. Educators need to see what new skills do they need to survive while parents should guide their children with respect to what fields will equip them with the necessary skills needed for the future job market.
