If the higher-education industry ultimately succumbs to the digital onslaught, the transformation will very likely be a dual-edged sword. A college credential may well become less expensive and more accessible to many students, but at the same time, technology could devastate an industry that is itself a major nexus of employment for highly educated workers. And as we’ve already seen, in an entire range of other industries, advancing automation software will continue to impact many of the higher-skill jobs these new graduates are likely to seek. Even as essay-grading algorithms and robotic tutors help teach students to write, algorithms like those developed by Narrative Science might have already automated much of the routine, entry-level writing in many areas. There may also prove to be a natural synergy between the rise of MOOCs and the practice of offshoring knowledge-based jobs. If massive online courses eventually lead to college degrees, it seems inevitable that a great many of the people—and a high percentage of the top-performing candidates—awarded these new credentials will be located in the developing world. As employers become accustomed to hiring workers educated via this new paradigm, they may also be inclined to take an increasingly global approach to recruiting.
I find the point that this passage makes to be even more relevant during the environment we find ourselves in today, where there is increasingly more jobs and education being held online.
The internet and education can be great levellers in terms of opportunities, but it could lead to negative consequences if too much change happens too fast. We’ve already seen the rise in anti-migrants sentiments in developed countries all over the world. Much of this is driven by economic insecurities of the average person.
Would these problems get exacerbated when increasing amount of higher value educational opportunies and hence, jobs, becomes remote opportunities in the developing world?
