Human Educators in 2050: Anticipating The Artificials

Sarah K Dyer

Sarah K Dyer

Keywords: human educators, EdTech, Strong AI, educational models, The Artificials, soft skills, emotional intelligence

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered profound changes in the global education landscape, triggering tertiary institutions to escalate investments in education technology (EdTech) and permanently adopt innovative, online initiatives. As the dust settles on these disruptions, individual human educators at universities are preparing for the next unavoidable waves of EdTech that will accompany the arrival of the next generation of new learners; Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha), born between 2010 and 2024. However, with the passage of time, many of these Gen Alphas will ultimately become parents themselves, supporting their own offspring's admissions into universities around 2050. By that time, human educators will be working firmly within the framework of an educational model driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and dispense university courses to this yet to be born generation who are expected to propagate their own natural curiosities for artificial concepts, hence referred to as The Artificials (born 2025-2039).

This new cohort of young learners are projected to absorb knowledge differently, having grown-up in a world shaped directly by revolutionary technology and Strong AI, they will bring to university their own particular set of unique learning styles. This article makes predictions about this new education realm and explores the notion of a typical university teaching and learning experience in 2050 as human educators discover the nuances of The Artificials. While it is anticipated the university domain in 2050 will be largely governed by a sophisticated Strong AI, future recruiters will be judiciously screening for The Artificial graduates who have successfully completed the highly sought-after human literacy and soft skills courses at the university level, essential for genuine human interaction, in order to grow a competent and capable workforce.

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