Universities need protect their position in education so that students have an independent pathway to work.
AI companies like OpenAI are insinuating themselves into the pathway from education to work. Soon they may claim it, a result for students.
We know that students are using AI at school and at university. Some even doubt their abilities without AI.
Institutions are working hard to adapt.
Now it’s claiming to have a solution: more AI.
On a website introducing its new certification programs, OpenAI gives a peek into the bigger picture.
The company is positioning itself to directly compete with universities.
As big AI companies search for a business model beyond subscriptions, universities need to be alert to this threat and urgently protect their position.
Even though many young people are ambivalent towards AI, it’s easy to see why they’d trust a service that’s explained accounting calmly and patiently for the 20th time and counselled them through a breakup.
Now OpenAI is extending its close relationship with students even further, hiring students as campus ambassadors.
The recruitment ad for joining what the company calls the Student Collective promises prospective campus leads “robust training in our tools, funding, swag and access to a community of remarkable peers”.
The OpenAI Deployment Company launched this year, with “more than $4bn of initial investment”.
In collaboration with companies including Accenture and John Deere, OpenAI is now offering certificates meant to lead to work opportunities.
Ella Hafermalz is an associate professor of work and technology at the Kin Center for Digital Innovation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.