The earliest universities in ancient India – Nalanda University and Takshashila University had a much greater role than merely centers of instructions and teaching; they were rather a center of all intellectual resources – teachers, manuscripts and scholarly debate. They served a very important role in an era when knowledge was dispersed, oral and difficult to access. These centers then became the nucleus of all knowledge – the fountainhead – necessary for transmission and preservation. The repositories of manuscripts took the shape of libraries; scholastic discourses changed to lectures and mentorship in some form morphed to research. The purpose of these universities was clear – cultivate wisdom through sustained attention, dialogue and reflection –Dhyaan, Samvada and Chintan. The method helped in cultivation of reflection, depth and inner clarity.
Modern universities emerged in response to the rising demands during industrialization phase. The industries required skilled human resources and on a scalable basis. With Industrial Revolution 1 (IR-1) to IR -4, the complexities changed, but the need by and large remains the same- scale. Universities responded to this by adapting to the demand. Universities ensure that the knowledge gets accessible and they produce skilled professionals efficiently. Structure, standardization, and credentials became central, and education shifted from depth to distribution. Thus, Universities from centers of wisdom changed to structured ecosystems where research, teaching, and certification converged. The viz viva of the modern universities changed to be a support system for the economic and industrial needs of the rapidly changing world. They started to solve two problems simultaneously – make learning and skill scalable and accessible; and be a provider of human capital in the rapidly industrial world. The nature of education changed from depth to distribution.
The next big change is now. Artificial Intelligence is challenging the concept of modern universities. Information which was hitherto a scarce resource is now instantly accessible and can even be generated on demand. Until now, the universities which were serving a purpose of fountainhead of knowledge, an institution that produces skills at scale, is now disrupted. AI not just store knowledge; it reduces effort and accelerates the output.
The relevance and future of universities depend on how they respond to this shift. If the choose to continue to be the conduit of information delivery their relevance is questionable. On the other hand, if they reorient themselves as institutions which can cultivate attention stamina and intellectual endurance, there is a future for these temples.
In this new AI and Deep Learning world, ATTENTION is the new intelligence. In the times when there are unabated notifications, short term content, constant switching to newer information; we are losing our ability to focus. The life cycle of university system is perhaps going back to the Nalanda era where knowing more is not important, ability to think deeper and focus shall be more important. The race of information availability is already won by AI. It is not intelligence, it’s all about wisdom.
Ironically, India’s education system assumes education as that which was revered in the classical industrial revolution era. The lecture plans are designed with expectation that students can sit through hour long lectures with sustained concentration. The reality is that the learners do not have that attention stamina to sustain. There is a clear mismatch between cognitive reality and academic expectation. There is a growing unacknowledged crisis. The central issue is that hitherto universities were designed to solve a problem – deliver knowledge efficiently. All the support to universities – the library, lectures and text book were designed centered to solve this problem. But this problem has largely been solved. Information today is easily accessible, searchable and instant. One need not go to a library to access this information. Does a university need a library at present? Instead, a high-speed internet and a paid version of Generative AI is a better and cost-effective way ! The problem to be solved is not information, it is ATTENTION.
Yet another unaligned system is – Assessment. The current assessment system prioritizes coverage over comprehension. The grades are dependent upon the ability of students to replicate and reproduce what has been used in the PowerPoint slides and not on problem solving. With overcrowded curricula, it leaves very little room for reflection. The innovation and breakthroughs are now reduced to hackathons, quick outputs. This swiftness has ousted the deliberate thinking and reflection which used to be the hallmark of education. We are nourishing recall in the times when reflection is more critical. The algorithms will win hands down in recall; however, our current education system is neglecting this and continues to follow the pre-AI era practices.
The AI engines were designed to supplement human intelligence and not to supplant it. The students are now using AI not just for assistance but for thinking as well. If this continues, the collective super brain of humans will deprecate at the cost of AI. The present and future generations will be less patient with complexities. This will be a negative spiral. The less capability and patience to complexities and abilities, the more reliance on AI. The Gen AI is therefore making the effort optional, consequently the intellectual depth will get rarified.
By staying longer with a problem that does not yield immediate answers, there is a knowledge frontier which gets created. The brain gets trained. Our education system requires fundamental rethinking.
First, we must accept that Attention is important and is not a given thing. It has to be developed and cultivated deliberately with a clear intent. The classrooms should be used as a place not merely as a space to disseminate information one way. It should be used as a lab to build cognitive stamina. Less crowded curricula which creates space to explore topics in greater detail and depth. The assignments should be designed to enable sustained inquiry rather than mere assemblage of information.
Second, we must revisit what we reward. If our education system continues to reward speed and volume, the students will strive to gain prowess in this skill, instead if we reward depth of thought, originality and problem solving; it will have different results.
We are at a crucial juncture. We can choose to ignore reality as the consequences will not be immediately visible. But we will not be able to ignore the consequences of ignoring this reality. Beneath the surface, something very critical is getting eroded. If we do not change, we will have graduates who will be capable of accessing information, efficient but intellectually fragile.
We will have graduates who are well-informed, but not deeply thoughtful. Capable of accessing knowledge, but not of generating insight. Efficient, but intellectually fragile.
Hitherto, we had a division of humanity based on access to information. This battle has long been over. The future will value people who have the attention endurance to use the rapidly available information and higher education has to reshape itself.
Written By-
Dr. Shivendra Mathur
Registrar & Dean – Industry Linked Programmes
NIIT University
