From Gutenberg to Chat GPT: The Challenge of the Digital University

Henri-Paul Rousseau

CIRANO Burgundy Reports from CIRANO

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to better understand the magnitude of the challenge that the digital world poses to the academic community and to propose some ideas that can help academics in their efforts to adapt to the digital world. The impact of the digital revolution on the world of university education can be summarized as follows: in a digital world, knowledge is accessible and, all in all, at very low cost, whereas the level and types of skills required to evolve in a digital world are more complex. The university has lost its quasi-monopoly in the transmission of this knowledge and has not yet established its indispensable role in the acquisition of new skills. The university is also threatened in its traditional capacity to attract, retain and promote the artisans of tomorrow's world who are increasingly active in ecosystems driven and even often controlled by the big industrial winners of the digital revolution. A reflection and a discussion are necessary. The digital world being a world of data, information and knowledge, this world can only be the natural world of the community of professors, teachers, researchers and students. The digitization of education is a unique opportunity to make it more accessible to as many people as possible. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the magnitude of the challenge that the digital world poses to the academic community and to propose some ideas that can help academics in their efforts to adapt to the digital world. The impact of the digital revolution on the world of university education can be summarized as follows: in a digital world, knowledge is accessible and, all in all, at very low cost, whereas the level and types of skills required to evolve in a digital world are more complex. The university has lost its quasi-monopoly in the transmission of this knowledge and has not yet established its indispensable role in the acquisition of new skills. The university is also threatened in its traditional capacity to attract, retain and promote the artisans of tomorrow's world who are increasingly active in ecosystems driven and even often controlled by the big industrial winners of the digital revolution. A reflection and a discussion are necessary. The digital world being a world of data, information and knowledge, this world can only be the natural world of the community of professors, teachers, researchers and students. The digitization of education is a unique opportunity to make it more accessible to as many people as possible.

Keywords: ChatGPT; Covid and education; Digital revolution; invention of the printing press; learning to learn; universal university model; university; Apprendre à apprendre; ChatGPT; covid et éducation; Edtech; Gutenberg; Invention de l'imprimerie; modèle universel de l'université; révolution numérique; université (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-04-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pay
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