와이즈유(영산대학교)
연설문
Nesfield International College(네팔) 총장 특강
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※ 본 특강은 2018HEPA연설문을 수정, 보완하여 진행하였습니다.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution and The Role of Higher Education:
A Call for “Back to the Basics”
1. Preface: Facing the Challenges of the World-historic Turning Point
The development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) led to great
changes in technology and industry now referred to as the "Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
We are now entering a new age that is fundamentally different from the past. As in the
cases of previous industrial revolutions, changes are expected to transpire in unprecedented
speed and the future appears to be the times of uncertainty
This uncertainty will inevitably bring about a crisis to our “Global Village.” It threatens the
foundation of all the progress we have been working on since the World War II. With a
possibility that what were previously natural and reasonable may turn out to be obsolete, we
are now becoming more apprehensive about the future. We are indeed at a turning point in
history.
2. Need for Reflection on the New Role of Higher Education
This turning point demands a new reflection on existing ideals and values as we reconsider
the role of higher education entrusted to the university community. With advancements in
the information and knowledge-based society, we expect that artificial intelligence will
increasingly take over the knowledge production and education that have long been the
domain of the university community.
Artificial intelligence has already started the production of knowledge, and it is getting smarter in decision-making capability than some of, perhaps most of, the best human experts. At this moment, students can access world-class knowledge and information on their smartphones without any help from professors. Even at the current level of technology, the role of the university and the faculty can no longer afford to maintain the status quo.
The university community will have to demonstrate the reason for its existence to future students and to the society. If we cannot convince them of the need to attend university or actual benefits of the university education, the foundation of the university community will inevitably collapse. This crisis has not yet arrived in full force, but if we do not start to prepare for it now, we may not be able to deal successfully with the crisis later.
During the era of the Third Industrial Revolution, the computer was a useful tool to assist humans as it replaced low to intermediate level brain work. However, in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the computer with artificial intelligence will replace even advanced level brain work. I am very concerned about the place of human beings in such society. We now must prepare for an age of artificial intelligence that may be more accurate and specialized than the best experts in most fields. What role could humans play then? What would be the role of higher education?
3. Seeking a New Breakthrough
In terms of information and knowledge, humans will increasingly lose their place to artificial intelligence. What we have learned from our long experience has been referred to as “inspiration” or “wisdom” rather than knowledge or information. However, we are witnessing that the technology of Big Data is encroaching here as well. Artificial intelligence is taking over the realm of experiential “wisdom.”
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, humans will have to seek their place free from the overwhelming extension of the artificial intelligence. Where on earth can we find the place? At this point, we need to turn to the traditional classics that have long provided the foundation for the university community. In The Republic, one of the most influential classics, Plato largely divided human spirit into the realm of “nous (wisdom)” and the other (including “logos”), saying that without “nous,” humans cannot access the realm of “nous.” Given that the artificial intelligence based on the knowledge belongs to the realm of the other, we would be able to find the very place in the realm of “nous”. This can be our breakthrough in the coming new era.
We know that this “nous” can be obtained by pursuing questions such as: “Do we truly perceive things?” and “Do things perceived actually exist?” These philosophical epistemology and ontology are not currently the focus of the mainstream academic interest at the university community, but they should be the premise of academic inquiries.
The breakthrough could only be achieved when the university regains its original mission of seeking the “true knowledge” through “nous” as the hub of such human endeavors. That should be the true function of the university. However, the university community has somehow deviated from its original mission due to various circumstances. We may be able to recover the lost ideals of the so-called “Ivory Tower” by going back to the primary mission of university.
4. A Call for “Back to the Basics”
The epistemology and ontology proposed by Plato in “the Allegory of the Cave” and the political ideal of the “Philosopher King” have long been main subjects in the fields of philosophy and political science at the heart of the academic world. The quest for the “true knowledge” and the leadership to build a more utopian world have long been established as the intrinsic values of the university community.
I think that those who have the “nous” will more likely attain the leadership that can lead complex conflicts and antagonisms of the global community to peace and happiness. According to Plato, “nous” is a state of mind that can see not only the “shadow” but also the “substance” of things eventually leading a leader to “Philosopher King”.
The quest for this fundamental values of the university may show us the way to overcome the crisis of unstable world politics, and it may be the best way to deal with the crisis of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The university and higher education should go back to the basics to regain its true mission.
The future society will have moved beyond the current stage of “knowledge-based society.” Education in the future will experience great changes. The times will demand a comprehensive shift in the social paradigm due to such developments as artificial intelligence replacing humans, changes in the socio-economic structure, and greater leisure time for human beings, etc.
As education in the future will focus on the role of humans that cannot be substituted by artificial intelligence, it will find its place on the “nous.” It would be a world-historical challenge to set up the educational objectives and systems that will lead students to the “nous.” Also it could mean reestablishment of the “Academia” founded by Plato about 26 centuries ago. New educational paradigm for the coming era would focus on the “nous” just as the “Academia” to cope with the challenge of artificial intelligence, even though educational methodology may differ from the previous one.
5. A Case of Y’sU (Wise University)
A. Pursuit of Founding Ideologies
Since its establishment in 1973, Y’sU (Wise University) has pursued its founding ideologies as the subject of academic inquiries of the “Ivory Tower.” Wonyung muae or “perfect freedom by enlightenment” represents the educational ideal of the truth and free spirituality therein, and Hongik in’gan or “Benefit all mankind far and wide” signifies the ideal to make contribution to the human society. In other words, these ideologies hold university’s fundamental values of the truth, freedom, and leadership.
Y’sU has decided to publicize the essential values of the university with the term “wisdom.” We adopted the new brand name Y’sU (Wise University) by inserting the apostrophe between Y and S in the YSU, the acronym for the official name of Young-San University. “Wise U” hopes to deliver the message that “wisdom” is the way to prepare successfully for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Y’sU conducts the inquiry into the essential values of the university through special academic conferences on its founding ideologies. I think these conferences will provide a stage to explore the true “wisdom” and values of the university and also to plan for the future. This philosophical inquiry in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will not be limited to certain disciplines. It will be a fundamental subject for the university community, in trying to secure the role of human being and university in the future.
However, the reality does not always go in the direction of the value the university pursues. We cannot ignore the mainstream trends of the university community. Y’sU is committed to current issues and educational innovations, and it will prepare for the future by exploring the basic proposition of the university during the biannual conferences on the founding ideologies. In the meantime, we are only making our progress step by step, and I think it is the most realistic approach.
We would like to invite institutions that share our ideas and values to join our academic conferences in pursuing the essential values of the university. As these values are somehow neglected by the mainstream, institutions that share similar ideas need to form a partnership in this quest. If we share the same values, let us encourage each other and prepare together for the uncertainties of the future that no one has ever experienced.
B. Gradual Implementation of Programs for “Wisdom”
In regard to putting ideals into action, Y’sU is trying to innovate the general education and encourage students to read more than one classic in each liberal arts course. This is intended to stimulate students’ curiosity in the fields of humanities as well as social and natural sciences. We have restructured the liberal arts education from the “topic-oriented” to the “classics-based” system in order to empower students to make individual efforts to explore values through questioning by themselves.
The educational efficacy of reading classics has been proven already in many universities. By reading the classics, Y’sU students are expected to bring a multitude of questions on humankind and society, and this in turn will lead them to investigate the fundamental values.
In addition, Y’sU encourages students to participate in the Humanity Contest as an extracurricular activity. The Humanity Contest pursues beauty that comes from deep inside the human being. Students organize teams to present their definition of "human beauty" in free format, and three teams are selected as winners. Moreover, three students who put acts of beauty most impressively into practice are designated as “Mr. or Ms. Humanity of the Year.”
Through this competition, we hope students will experience the human beauty with their whole body and soul. I hope that the contemplation of the deep beauty of human beings will eventually lead to a quest for the essence of beauty, which will lead students into the quest for truth.
6. Conclusion
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a considerable portion or perhaps most of contents consisting of current higher education may become obsolete. Higher education in the new era must find its role through the inquiry into its original mission of university.
The fundamental questions of the truth, such as "Do objects perceived actually exist?" or "Who am I that perceive things?" will have to be revived in the university community.
The university community was the place and should be the place, where these kinds of important inquiries used to take place. To prepare for the new era, I kindly ask you to join us in our academic conferences exploring the essential values of the university. I look forward to continuing this quest together. Thank you for your attention.
September 6, 2019.
Bu, Gu-Wuck
President of the Y’sU (Wise University)