Robot-Proof?

I've been reading an e-book version of Joseph E. Aoun's book Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. (The fact that it is an e-book version means that I am forced to view it as a pdf on my computer, which probably influences my perception of it.)

The author's basic premise is that, as was the case with previous technological advances such as automobiles and electricity, the just-around-the-corner wide-spread adoption of AI will be quite disruptive for those not capable of making the transition to the new reality. However, although technical literacy will certainly be a prerequisite moving forward, there is still a place, perhaps even a need, for the human-based qualities typically fostered in a liberal arts education. (Dr. Aoun is the president of Northeastern University, a private R1 school in Boston, Massachusetts.)

Aoun coins the term humanics to describe the type of educational training that he envisions. Humanics is made up of three types of literacy: technological, data, and human. Developing these literacies strengthens the four robot-proof cognitive capacities of critical thinking, systems thinking, entrepreneurship, and cultural agility.

Achieving this vision, according to Aoun, requires educational activities that intentionally expose connections between the activities that students undertake and the underlying capacities that they are intended to strengthen. The goal of classroom learning for the instructor to model how to think and approach problems. A second core component of humanics is experiential learning, though co-ops,  co-curricular programs, internships, and the like. The goal of these experiences is to help learners apply their learning to new situations and challenges, making novel connections and facilitating "far transfer" of knowledgde.

Aoun cites Carol Dweck's concept of "growth mindset" (as opposed to "fixed mindset") as the type of lifelong learner humanics is designed to produce. Through a rigorous yet flexible curriculum, learners progress from a state of unconscious incompetence (i.e., they are unaware of their inexperience), to conscious incompetence (i.e., they are aware of their lack of expertise), to conscious competence (i.e., they can perform adequately if they concentrate), and, finally, to unconscious competence (skilled performance on demand).

I haven't read the final chapter yet, but I found myself agreeing more with Aoun's description of the challenge -- the inevitable loss of many current jobs and even categories of jobs due to automation -- than with his prescription for answering it. He presents several stories of Northeastern students who have had impressive experiences during their college career (and are, no doubt, intelligent and talented young men and women), but no information on the typical experience of students.

Why is it that books lamenting the state of higher education tend to be filled with facts and statistics when they describe the problem, but settle for anecdotes when they talk about solutions?

Note that I don't disagree with Aoun's recommendations per se, but the fact that college graduates can't find decent jobs in the current economy doesn't bode well for a future with even fewer middle-class jobs, humanics or not.

That said, Robot-Proof is a thought-provoking read.