The AI revolution: do we need better licenses or a better world? 

A lot has been recently debated about the AI revolution and how it will affect our research, our teaching, and our interaction with students. There is no doubt that life will never be the same.  

In my own field of Biotechnology, it became obvious with the release of AlphaFold2 by DeepMind in 2020 that a revolution was coming. This AI-based software solved a problem that had challenged scientists for decades. Accurate prediction of protein structures enables an immense range of applications, from studying disease mechanisms and drug development to designing enzymes for plastic degradation and engineering of microbes for sustainable bio-based production.  

LLMs are also now making every step of our research faster, from literature search to code development and result analysis. A recent article in UA claims that not having the best licenses is like using a power drill locked in low speed. But before jumping on the AI train at the same speed as everyone else, perhaps it’s worth reflecting on what can be learned from previous revolutions. 

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Norske forskere jobber med en låst drill

The first major revolution of humankind was arguably agriculture, which enabled the first settled societies. Suddenly, we could feed far more people. But diet became nutritionally poorer, work became harder, and seasonality and crop failures often led to famine. Higher population densities led to the first major microbial epidemics. After starting to cultivate the soil, we also invented borders and nations, and began to reshape the planet’s landscape. 

Then came the industrial revolution. Machines replaced most human labor, and production shifted from mainly subsistence products to modern commodities. The result however was greater social inequality. Workers moved from farms to factories facing harsher working conditions and longer hours. Crowded cities created new ground for epidemics, which only abated with the introduction of better sanitation and vaccination. The immense demand for fossil fuels and raw materials led to the planetary crisis we face today.   

Lastly came the digital revolution. Computers made us even more efficient, and the internet created one global society. But higher efficiency again meant higher productivity demands, followed by greater economic inequality. Tech giants created the world’s largest billionaires (and recently the first trillionaire). Health-wise, the largest epidemic was mental health. Paradoxically, globalization fostered isolation, with younger generations feeling lonelier and more depressed than ever. 

What will the AI revolution bring? It is hard to say. Every past revolution promised a better life, but also brought social inequality, planetary destruction, and a need for physical and mental re-adaptation to a lifestyle far removed from how our species evolved for millions of years.  

So what can we do as a university to be prepared? My personal suggestion is to address five points: 

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Når friksjonen forsvinner

Sovereignty: the recent block to the latest AI models outside the US, combined with unchallenged military and economic dominance, should be a wake-up call. The European Commission recently proposed the EU digital sovereignty initiative with concrete measures to develop European AI and hardware solutions and encourage public institutions to switch to open-source software (imagine the millions of NOK we would save on Microsoft licenses). 

Environment: the electricity consumption and CO₂ emissions per AI query are a current concern. But this is only part of the picture. There’s also mining of critical materials for hardware, fresh water used to cool data centers, and the land area these centers occupy, further disrupting fragile ecosystems. We must demand that AI providers perform life cycle assessments (LCA), as already expected in other industries, covering every step, from building and running data centers to disposing of outdated hardware. 

Values: in each discipline we transmit three things to students: knowledge (what we do), skills (how we do it), and values (why we do it). As the first two become so easily accessible by asking AI, all that remains is knowing the right questions to ask, i.e. how to apply knowledge and skills to solve societal challenges. I believe this is where we can still guide students, in following their own values. And we see that our students are value-driven (just consider the brave students who recently risked their lives to fight genocide in a far country). 

gjesteskribenten

– Alt jeg ikke visste, og jeg ikke vet, om KI og om livet

Entrepreneurship: AI’s impact on the job market has already begun. Recent graduates mention fewer positions, especially at entry level. But, although automation historically has the effect of taking jobs, I see a bright side for AI. We are no longer workers in physical factories, we can build our own in the digital world. I believe there will be a lower barrier to self-employment and perhaps more job satisfaction. But we must adapt to this new reality and consider mandatory entrepreneurship training in our master and doctoral programs. 

Mental health: the downside of self-sufficient is risk of isolation. We no longer need to ask a colleague for help or friend for a second opinion. Even multi-disciplinary teams become obsolete when you can simply ask an all-knowing oracle. I fear that the isolation young generations feel will worsen. Add a daily dose of scrolling through AI-generated content and we have a recipe for increased depression, social anxiety, and body dysmorphia. It’s vital we continue to encourage team projects and also raise awareness for mental health. 

In summary, I believe the answer to the AI revolution is not simply access to the latest tools, but an effort to create “values for a better world”. Perhaps we can learn from the Norwegian tradition of making our own trail, instead of simply following where the road takes us.