The world is an interestingly weird place these days, technologically speaking. In the days of yesteryear, we enjoyed using paper maps, physically meeting up with friends and family, and calling people to hear their voice on the other end. Technology has literally exploded in this world in the last 30 years. Now, we’ve got everything at our fingertips! From smartphones and other handheld devices to artificial intelligence and robots doing much of the work for us with fully automated processes, making us question our reality. There’s also a growing concern that I have with companies using AI platforms that will grab your IP addresses to “remember” you for the next time you visit their website. Some privacy please! How do we know if we’re communicating with a real person on the computer through email, chat, or even the phone? How do we know if a picture we see on the Internet is real or a product of artificial intelligence? The answer is quite simple – we don’t. Now I’m not knocking this new age technology. In fact, when used in moderation and used strategically, it can be incredible!
So, what does this mean for higher education? Is there a such thing as too much automation? Based on the implications of one article I recently read, my answer is yes. Hannan and Liu (2023) discussed the ways in which colleges and universities are using various technologies including AI software and chatbots. In their article, they mentioned the integration of these technologies both inside and outside the classroom and across all departments on campuses. Specifically for college admissions processes, Hannan and Liu (2023) stated that Cognitive AI software was designed to replace humans to avoid subjectiveness and biases. I could go down a rabbit hole with implicit biases, but I’ll save that for another time since that is one of my areas of expertise, especially in higher education and college admissions. Replacing humans was mentioned several times in this article, which is a concern for me. Here’s the thing – as I stated previously, some automation and artificial intelligence can be a great resource to enhance communication, grow enrollment, and improve the student experience. The problem comes when these tools meant to improve higher education starts replacing humans and the personal connection. Higher education administrators must determine a way to use these resources without losing the human connection.
That’s where I can step in with my expertise and help institutions in these areas – creating a balancing act of human interaction and technology. There’s a fine line that we must not cross as educators and leaders in this industry. Be wary of too much automation and artificial intelligence. You could be automating yourself or your staff right out of a job!
References
Hannan, E., & Liu, S. (2023). AI: new source of competitiveness in higher education. Competitiveness Review, 33(2), 265-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-03-2021-0045