Higher ed faces AI shock deeper than the web, says academic

Key takeaway

• A business school leader who witnessed three previous technology shocks to higher education argues that AI represents a fundamentally deeper disruption than the Internet, big data, or MOOCs.

• While those earlier technologies left the core classroom experience surprisingly stable—transforming operations and spawning new programs rather than replacing traditional teaching—AI may prove different because it expands human creativity itself.

• The author, who led digital transformation at emlyon business school starting in 2014, suggests the field should prepare for more substantial institutional change than previous disruptions required.

3 Key Points

FAQ

How does the author compare AI to earlier tech shocks like the web and MOOCs?

The author argues that while the Internet, big data, and MOOCs promised major disruption, they ultimately left the core pedagogical experience—courses taught by professors in classrooms to groups of students—largely untouched. AI is different because it is not merely expanding the space where humans express creativity (as the web did) but expanding creativity itself. The author calls this layer deeper than previous shocks.

What evidence does the author cite that earlier tech disruptions had limited impact on higher education?

The web brought digital content and free access to knowledge but did not sideline universities; the core classroom remains offline. Big data led to new crossover programs (like data science majors) but did not replace group-based teaching structures or deliver the promised individualized learning paths at scale. MOOCs platforms (Coursera, Udemy, edX, Khan Academy) still exist but serve different student segments rather than displacing traditional higher education institutions.