The sudden disruptive rise of generative artificial intelligence? An evaluation of their impact on higher education and the global workplace

This paper evaluates the rise of “Generative Artificial Intelligence” (GAI) in its myriad forms, with the highest profile being the “Large Language Models” (LLMs). More importantly, it analyses the potentially disruptive impact of this ascendant technology on higher education and the global workplace. The findings of this paper indicate that students pursuing higher education tend to perceive GAI favourably, as it frees them from the toil of rote-learning. However, the view is rather mixed in the case of educators, who are still coming to grips with this seemingly disruptive technology. In the case of the global labour market, GAI has the potential to decimate legions of white-collar jobs once it eliminates inherent issues of biases, security and misinformation. Despite the media’s constant labelling of GAI as a disruptive technology that has suddenly burst onto the technological scene, it is evidenced in this paper that the technology has taken nearly eight decades to reach today’s level of technological advancement. Further, it is far from reaching its full potential, as it is still incorporating advances in pattern recognition, planning and problem solving, and quantum computing technologies. This study also warns of concentrating the power of this game-changing technology in the hands of a few major corporate titans.