Currently, there’s a public surge of interest on any Artificial Intelligence (AI) topics, especially those related to Large Language Models, like ChatGPT [1]. This just isn’t a random development: AI is here to remain and can have huge social and economic implications. It’s well-known that AI could be a blessing but can even turn right into a curse.  In view of its potential dangers, many AI scientists expressed their concern over AI developments in a way, which, for my part, borders technophobia. Nevertheless, there are lines of defense. The primary one is global AI regulation. Nevertheless, the actual defense and way forward is the formation of a latest breed of well-educated and informed residents. This text precisely addresses the connection between AI and a crucial (for my part) revamping of the worldwide educational system in any respect levels.

AI is humanity’s response to the increasingly complexity of our globally interconnected society and our man-made and natural environment. The expansion processes of physical and social complexity are deep and seemingly unstoppable.  Our current Information Society (where data increase exponentially but knowledge increases linearly over time) is rapidly transforming right into a Knowledge Society (knowledge-dominated one, where knowledge is predicted to extend exponentially). AI and the morphosis (formation) of knowledgeable residents are our only hope for such a smooth transition. I deliberately use the Greek term “citizen morphosis” to emphasise the necessity to teach residents equipped with critical considering, precise multimodal communication skills, imagination, and emotional intelligence who will give you the option to know, adapt, and ultimately harness the tremendous technological and economic possibilities and employment prospects that lie ahead of us. It is not any coincidence that such a level of education is wanted today in lots of job positions internationally [2].

This need permeates all education levels of all social strata. A society divided into 1/3-2/3, where 1/3 of the population understands and advantages from scientific progress, while the remaining 2/3 lags, being impoverished and technophobic, is just not sustainable, because it cannot guarantee the advance and take up of information at global level. All people should reap the advantages of information, including women, minorities and folks of the Global South. Else, we may face a catastrophic social implosion, as happened, for other reasons, within the early Middle Ages.

Fortunately, the essential concepts crucial for understanding AI and Information Sciences (e.g., data similarity, clustering, classification) are easy and will be taught in any respect educational levels. If properly taught, they will easily be grasped even by uneducated people. It will greatly combat ignorance and AI technophobia.  Such an academic advance simply requires political will and academic readjustment to offer suitable teaching of those concepts, primarily through rearranging the Mathematics and Informatics curriculum in any respect education levels. After all, we already observe a (partial) mathematization of all Sciences (including the Liberal ones), which seems inevitable. It just isn’t certain that it is possible, given the normal separation of  Sciences/Engineering and Humanities in all education levels. Nevertheless, it may possibly be doable, as, besides Mathematics, Classical Studies are a perfect tool for developing critical considering and precision of expression. Naturally, in such an environment, naïve knowledge memorization, or the tutorial offering of skills on the expense of a broader and deeper knowledge acquisition don’t have any place.

In University education, the changes will probably be drastic and can come very soon (most of them). I present some proposals that I even have detailed in my book ‘AI Science and Society’ [2], which was published in October 2022, and I dare to say or hope that they were prophetic.

1. Creation of Schools of ‘Information Science and Engineering’ with Departments of:

• Informatics
• Mathematics
• Computer Engineering
• Artificial Intelligence Science and Engineering
• Web/Web Science.

Such efforts are already being made internationally, as will be seen in Figure 1. Although driven by demand, the basic cause for such a development is the popularity of ‘information’ (and knowledge) as an independent scientific subject, on the identical level as matter (Physics, Chemistry), environment (Engineering Sciences), and life (Health Sciences, Biology). Plainly Computer Science (called Informatics elsewhere) is already becoming the mother science of other disciplines, e.g., of Artificial Intelligence Science and Engineering. The identical happened within the nineteenth century: at the moment, Physics and Chemistry gave birth to all Engineering Sciences.

2. Creation of Departments for ‘Mind and Social Science and Engineering’ in Schools of Arts and Humanities (perhaps a more suitable term will be used). I think that is my most groundbreaking proposal. Currently, the Humanities face the best pressure from AI advances, which will not be immediately apparent. Indeed, the mathematization of classical subjects (e.g., Linguistics, Sociology) has advanced significantly. The creation of ‘Digital Humanities’ Departments can be one other good selection. Otherwise, the one alternative I see is the creation of departments for ‘Philological/Linguistic Engineering’ or ‘Social Engineering’ in Natural Sciences or Engineering Schools. Being a fan of classical studies (though engineer by training), I might not wish to witness such a demise of Humanities Schools.

3. Creation of departments for ‘Bio-Science and Engineering’ in Schools of Health Sciences. Essentially, this could be a radical evolution of Biomedical Engineering Departments with the addition of latest subjects, resembling Genetic Engineering and Systems Biology.

4. Mandatory inclusion of Mathematics and Computer Science courses within the curricula of all disciplines without exception. Simply, one or two (poor) courses in Statistics or Programming don’t meet the present needs.

A few of the above proposals (not all) have already been suggested or implemented on the international level. Given the inertia of the worldwide educational system, I’m not naïve enough to consider that such ideas will be implemented without reactions or overnight. Nevertheless, these proposals (and even higher ones) will be discussed at a political level and throughout the Universities themselves (at a scientific level), in order that each country can enter the upcoming Knowledge Society era with one of the best possible prerequisites.

Bibliography

[1] Ioannis Pitas, “Artificial Intelligence Science and Society Part A: Introduction to AI Science and Information Technology“,  https://www.amazon.com/dp/9609156460?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

[2] Ioannis Pitas, “Artificial Intelligence Science and Society Part C: AI Science and Society“, Amazon/Createspace,  https://www.amazon.com/dp/9609156487?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Further reading

[PIT2023a] Ioannis Pitas, CVML short course, “AI Science and Engineering and its Impact on the Society”, https://icarus.csd.auth.gr/introduction-to-ai-science-and-engineering-and-its-impact-on-the-society-and-the-environment/

[PIT2022] Ioannis Pitas, “AI Science and Engineering: A latest scientific discipline?”, https://icarus.csd.auth.gr/chatgtp-in-education/

[PIT2023b] Ioannis Pitas, “ChatGPT in education”, http://icarus.csd.auth.gr/ai-science-and-engineering-a-new-scientific-discipline/

[PIT2023c] I. Pitas, “Artificial intelligence just isn’t the brand new Tower of Babel. We must watch out for technophobia as an alternative”, Euronews, 8/5/2023, https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/08/artificial-intelligence-is-not-the-new-tower-of-babel-we-should-beware-of-technophobia-ins