What will become of universities?
Two prominent academics discuss (and model!) the future of learning
Jordan Peterson asks:
What do you think is going to happen to the universities in light of all this new technological possibility?
Scott Barry Kaufman:
I predict that in 20 years or so universities will be considered very archaic and pointless to a large degree… I think we’re going to look back at some point in the future and the sort of elitism of the educational structure that we have at universities is going to be considered a bit silly considering there’s so much high quality information coming out that’s going to be accessible to so many people and that so many people are going to be learning things not through a university. And once that starts happening and the tables get turned in a way where the people in power in society to a large degree are, if not self-taught, taught through channels other than the elite universities I think that things are going to look a bit silly about the current structure.
Peterson:
It seems to me that the landscape is going to transform itself so that people will turn for further education to discussions like the one that we just had, because why not? We just conducted something that approximates a high level graduate seminar spontaneously. You’ve worked for decades on these sorts of things and so have I. Even as a professional in an elite institution, I would say the opportunity to sit down for two hours with another respected figure in the field and have a conversation like this are relatively few and far between. Now you can do that whenever you want… how is that not just going to win?
The discussion continues here and is well worth your time. Indeed the entire episode models the high quality instruction becoming increasingly available for free on the internet, as Peterson and Kaufman bring their full expertise to bear on the science of intelligence, creativity, and self-actualization.