We are witnessing fundamental and dramatic changes across different areas of our lives. In fact, since the beginning of the 20th century, the rate of change has accelerated in various fields with the term “acceleration of history” more commonly used to describe this phenomenon. This acceleration continues its course today and will intensify as we move deeper into the 21st century. Today, we are living in a world that is constantly transforming. Our ability to adapt and grow is now invaluable, and the idea of a systemic “paradigm shift” across multiple areas has profound implications not only for our personal and professional lives but also for the area I have devoted my entire professional career to: higher education.

We are shifting the lens through which we view the world and the new inventions and capabilities being brought to life. For higher education, it can lead to a more authentic, fulfilling experience, and greater success for students and learners everywhere. On a personal level, we can take advantage in more meaningful ways of all life has to offer outside of our day-to-day jobs.

We are continuing to engage discussions about the value of a college degree, credentialing, admissions, university costs, student learning outcomes and success, attainment, paths to employment, and policy issues that still remain unresolved. Just as the leap from Newtonian physics to quantum mechanics revolutionized our understanding of the universe, we should encourage a redefinition of our beliefs and perspectives on higher education. By adjusting and changing perspectives, we should transition from old paradigms to new ones, encouraging groundbreaking viewpoints like moving from a 20th century exclusionary approach to higher education to a truly 21st century inclusionary model where the “getting in, getting through and getting out” framework of linear college can efficiently be substituted, reconsidered, and adapted to provide individual and professional success for all learners globally.

Inspiring innovation is one of the tools to embrace novel methods and techniques that can revolutionize our approach to higher education. Letting go of outdated beliefs and allowing ourselves to embrace new ideas and paths is a must as we begin to close the door on the first quarter of the 21st century. Many colleges and universities are already opening their doors to some of these changes, fostering creativity and discovery to unleash a wave of innovation and progress.

One critical aspect of our global knowledge society can be seen in the role of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in decision-making and its permeation throughout higher education. The type of AGI that possesses the ability to understand, learn, and apply its intelligence broadly, much like a human being, is being seen more widely applied today.

Higher education is also facing this great disruptor. As universities struggle to remain relevant and prove their worth to learners across the globe, there is no clear agreement on how to respond to the AGI moment or how to embrace this new paradigm.

These rapid breakthroughs and unexpected developments that we are all witnessing across society today speak to the advancements we see in AGI. The real challenge with AGI is not about it replacing human decision-makers, but rather, increasing our dependence on it for critical guidance. There is a general concern across different areas, not just in higher education, about the risks to become too reliant on AGI´s suggestions and recommendations. Understandably, there is a need for humanity to harness AGI’s power responsibly, ensuring human oversight with ethical considerations to remain at the forefront.

AGI and the companies leading its use in different industries and market segments are providing humanity with new, innovative, and exponential technology. In those different industries, higher education is still a very small piece of a much larger puzzle, but an important one if we agree on the key societal role of education. Aristotle recognized that the aim of education was to train people in the moral virtues that, alone, could lead to human flourishing. He explained the importance of living according to prudence, courage, moderation, and justice. Forming a human´s ethos was part of the education Aristotle envisioned. Centuries later, Albert Einstein reminded us that education was not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think. As we see the enormous progress AGI is making in the context of education, we should commit to using AGI not just as a tool for decision-making, but as a partner in our quest for thoughtful, informed choices during this higher education paradigm shift.

Think of Google´s new AI model called Gemini, which is said to rival GPT-4. 2. Watch Meta enhancing its AI capabilities with new features, including an AI image generator. Even McDonald’s has a new AI chatbot named “Ask Pickles,” which is anticipated to make ordering more interesting. Consider Alibaba’s video AI that is scraping TikTok data for creativity. Or think of how AI is contributing to decoding a new whale language. Nvidia is ensuring compliance with U.S. export controls to China regarding new chips. Or think of DeepMind being involved in predicting the structure of over 2 million new materials.

The change we’ve continued to see take place in college admissions is also worth noting. More and more companies are devising ways to leverage AGI to serve as an extension of admissions teams in attracting and admitting students in new and different ways. Selective universities are becoming even more selective while closures and mergers have taken place in the past decade as we prepare to witness an enrollment cliff in 2025 caused by lower birth rates due to impacts from the economic downturn of 2008. With fewer students applying to colleges and universities, higher ed institutions will have to employ even more sophisticated enrollment management strategies and data analytics to fill the seats.

AGI is already helping in this area, as well as in strengthening student retention and helping students graduate. AGI can also support a true personalization of teaching and learning based on unique, personal, adaptive learning patterns, and deep learning approaches guiding individuals based on their unique skills, needs and preferences. With emerging market realities, teaching and learning can be then adapted to industry needs with unparalleled changes to the college curriculum.

The need to integrate AGI into higher education and the teaching and learning ecosystem is inevitable, and we should embrace its use in a humanistic and ethical way to help us all move forward in the shifting paradigm we are each witnessing today.