It often seems like AI as an abstract concept now dominates tech news headlines, with continuous new business intrigues, big-tech pushes to dominate the space, and even curious scientific breakthroughs. AI is genuinely growing at an explosive pace right now, driven by innovations like ChatGPT. In parallel, the emerging tech is being put to use at businesses large and small, and its potential to supercharge the limited resources of small teams in smaller companies is well documented.
Youngsters growing up engaging with smartphones, social media influencers, VR goggles and more are also savvy about the promise of AI, since many have been looking at screens since toddlerhood. Like generations before them, many digitally native students want to study the cutting edge of technology-hence the surge of interest in studying AI cited by the University of Texas.
In a press release announcing its new initiative, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy even noted that it was a sign the university was embracing the "fifth industrial revolution," which is a bold pronouncement indeed. The numbers support UTSA's plan: The university said 6,000 students are enrolled in AI, cyber, computing and data science-related degree programs, an increase of nearly one-third since 2019. Currently their 1,000 graduates of these programs came from four different colleges in the 2022-23 school year.
AI in education is a fraught topic for one very obvious reason: if an AI can write an essay, convincingly arguing its points and using sophisticated language, students are going to use it to do their work for them. But educators are increasingly wise to this trick, and some institutions are pivoting to incorporating AI into the learning process-Arizona State University recently partnered with OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise system, for example.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that AI is good for education and this makes sense. If an AI can help a CEO dream up a new business plan, then it can certainly help a professor with routine tasks like pulling together the right topics for their course syllabus.
Both the rise in student interest in learning about AI, and the rise of AI in education itself create plenty of opportunities for small businesses: There are always opportunities for startups and agile businesses to offer products that can help "fix" the education system, maybe by offering apps that cater to teaching about AI. There's even the intriguing possibility that a startup could create actual custom AI tools — using ChatGPT's custom GPT system, for example-to help schools teach students about AIs.
The news from UTSA serves as yet another reminder that the AI revolution really is underway, and your business should be looking at how to incorporate the tech into its daily operations. It also means that when today's freshmen graduate they'll likely be incredibly up to date on what AI can offer, and be extremely comfortable using AI as a tool. As well as perhaps having to pay these youngsters more when you hire them, you may have to adjust your workplace to meet their very different expectations.
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