Making ourselves future-proof
Perhaps not surprisingly as I’ve been working on the commentary I mentioned last week, it has been impossible not to think about the impact of GenAI on our work lives. Each week there is increasing evidence that AI is not only coming for entry level jobs, but for higher level jobs too. Check out this article which finds that AI can generate “better” creative ideas than humans.
At the same time in higher education, we have pushes for better return on investment for students, which could fundamentally change the kinds of university degrees students’ have access to in the future. Couple this with the “student enrollment cliff”, which forecasts a decline in the number of traditional college aged students, and the uncertainty around research funding. Together it’s not unreasonable to feel overwhelmed about the future of academic life.
So, what should we do? Until last week I wasn’t sure where to start either, but then I was reminded of something.
In our department seminar last week, the faculty answered graduate students’ questions about writing. During this session a student asked about how to improve their writing skills quickly and without just writing more.
Now I can hear all of you academics out there shouting at your screens, “There is no short cut!! You just need to write more.” Of course you aren’t wrong, but I think this lesson also applies to how we future proof ourselves in a moment when nothing feels secure.
What do I mean? So much of the rhetoric around using GenAI, so far, has been about making things more efficient and easier. Produce more, with less effort. Free up your time to do deep thinking (thinking about what, no one can say).
This student’s question got me thinking that maybe the idea of making everything efficient is the trap. There is important learning in seemingly mundane tasks. I read and summarized 100s or articles before I wrote research questions. I edited many articles before I wrote one. I had my own writing heavily edited before I submitted a manuscript for publication (thank you Kelly for your editing on my early work 😬). Had I not done these mundane tasks I would not be the academic I am today.
My conclusion: When we outsource the mundane work, we cheat ourselves out of the possibility of mastering a new skill and future proofing ourselves. Academic life is going to continue to change (we’ve talked about that before), and in many ways that change is desperately needed. Importantly, we can’t stop that change from happening. Future proofing our careers demands that we get comfortable adapting and changing ourselves. Whether that be the kind of work we do, how we talk about our work, or what we do with our research findings.
With that in mind here are a few thoughts for how to build the muscles needed to be ready for whatever comes next:
1. Read widely – Both inside and outside of your discipline. This helps expose you to ideas that might not be common in your discipline and grow your ability to make new connections.
2. Have conversations – Test your thinking through discussion with colleagues. This does require you to be vulnerable, which can be hard, but if you don’t test your ideas, you can’t grow them.
3. Practice – Try and try and try again. Using your new learnings will increase your familiarity and comfort with them, which of course translates into how you advance knowledge in your field.
4. Be patient – This will be hard. You will want to quit. I’ve had these thoughts too. But side-stepping the mundane part of redesigning my research for impact has never gotten me out of doing the work (there are no short cuts). It’s only postponed my progress.
I wish there was a fun and catchy approach I could share with you all for future proofing your careers. But there’s not. It will take you learning how to think differently, testing your ideas over and over, and letting the process take the time it takes. I’ve learned over time to appreciate this about the redesigns of my own research programs.
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