With an increase in the use of artificial intelligence, there have been concerns that its use will replace jobs or that it will be used dishonestly in academics.
But AI is on a path to cementing itself as an important tool for many jobs. As AI becomes prevalent in the workforce and academics, Pierce College should create courses that teach students how to use it as an effective tool.
Across the nation, many schools have created courses and programs for AI, such as MIT, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Some community colleges have also created AI academic programs, such as Estrella Mountain College in Arizona and Las Positas College in California, the latter having created a certificate in 2020, according to the Los Angeles Community College District.
Pierce can get ahead by creating curricula focused on AI, which could potentially help increase enrollment given that this is still a fairly novel concept, and better equip students as the job market is shaped by the increase in AI. Some of these courses could also have a more narrow focus, such as how to use AI for research.
Programs such asClaude.ai are capable of creating fairly serviceable outlines of documents, highlighting key ideas and summarizing sections with accuracy. Tools like these are not necessarily harmful, because they still require a person to read and be familiar with the source and expedite the research process, which can be very lengthy.
AI can also be used in the classrooms to assist educators and students by creating personalized learning materials for students’ areas of strength and interests, and potentially highlighting areas of struggle “allowing educators to provide targeted interventions,” according to the California Department of Education.
Not all AI is bad AI. It can be a genuine tool. For instance, journalists use programs such as Otter.ai to aid in transcribing recordings, saving writers the time and hassle of manually transcribing the audio from people they interview. But the person transcribing still has to listen to the recording to make sure no errors were made.
Goldman Sachs estimated that about two-thirds of jobs are exposed to some level of AI automation. This is where a need for people to be literate in AI comes in.
Additionally, Generation.org noted the challenges posed in the workforce as AI progresses, such as a “need for workers to upskill or reskill to stay relevant in their careers” and a risk that some manual and routine jobs being automated.
While historically automation has led to humans being replaced by technology, it also creates new types of jobs, according to the World Economic Forum.
Pierce can adequately prepare students for a world that is prevalent in AI and even help some students launch careers in AI-related markets by adding AI courses.