Chris Gray, Ph.D.
Founding President, Erie County Community College of Pennsylvania
Research shows that students do most of their work between 9:00pm and 3:00am, which is far outside of normal business hours when most support services are available to students. So, how do we help fill that gap and be there when our students need us? Increasingly, I've become convinced that AI is at least part of the answer. AI chatbots and study sites are on the rise, and while our students certainly know about them, there's more that we need to do to prepare our students for the role these technologies are poised to play in their lives.
Last month, I found myself in a sunlit conference room in Washington DC, surrounded by fellow community college presidents from across the nation. There was one recurrent theme that kept emerging during this gathering: artificial intelligence and the way it is poised to change our educational mission.
In one small group session, I shared something personal with my colleagues. In my office at EC3, I keep a quote on my window just to help maintain perspective: "We are experiencing change at a pace faster than we have ever seen before and slower than we will ever see it again." Silently, heads nodded in agreement across the room. This statement has never felt truer than it does today when we consider how AI is reshaping our workforce – and the world, really – at breathtaking speed.
The statistics paint a clear picture of AI's accelerating integration into the workplace:
Job postings requiring AI skills have increased by 119% since 2020, according to LinkedIn's 2023 Workforce Report
- 85% of executives believe AI will significantly change how work is done within their organizations in the next three years (PwC AI Survey, 2023)
- Nearly 40% of companies implemented some form of AI in 2023, up from just 15% in 2021 (Gartner Research)
- AI-related skills are now mentioned in 33% of all job postings, up from 8% in 2019 (Indeed Hiring Lab)
Perhaps most striking is how rapidly AI literacy has shifted from a specialized technical skill to a basic workplace requirement. A recent McKinsey report estimates that by 2026, approximately 45% of existing work activities across industries could be automated using these emergent technologies. Yes, you read that right! Almost half of all work duties, regardless of industry, could be replaced by AI. Where does this technological outsourcing leave workers?
Here in Erie County, we're already seeing the impact of the AI boom firsthand. Traditional entry-level positions that once provided crucial first steps on career ladders are disappearing:
Administrative support roles: Tasks like scheduling, data entry, and basic correspondence are increasingly handled by AI systems
- Customer service positions: Chatbots and AI-powered support systems are handling routine inquiries
- Basic accounting functions: AI tools now automatically assist in bookkeeping, categorizing expenses, reconciling accounts, and even preparing standard financial documents
- Retail inventory management: Automated systems predict inventory needs and manage supply chains with minimal human oversight
At our local insurance companies like Erie Insurance, entry-level claims processing jobs now require familiarity with AI-assisted claims verification tools. Meanwhile, our manufacturing sector partners like Wabtec Corporation are incorporating AI-assisted quality control systems that require operators with basic AI literacy. There's no way around it: AI is changing not just how we work at our jobs but also what kinds of jobs even exist.
Here's the crucial insight I gained at the conference: While not everyone needs to become an AI engineer or data scientist, baseline AI literacy is becoming essential across virtually all industries and roles. Burying our heads in the sand is NOT an option, even though that can feel tempting at times. Dr. Maria Rodriguez from the Center for Workforce Development put it perfectly: "AI competency exists on a spectrum. We don't need a workforce of specialists, but we absolutely need a workforce where everyone understands AI fundamentals." That is, everyone in the modern workforce needs to know enough to be dangerous.
That's all well and good, but it's pretty nonspecific. What, exactly, does this baseline competency look like on the ground? According to research from the MIT Sloan School of Management's "Future of Work" initiative, there are five baseline requirements:
Understanding what AI can and cannot do
- Basic interaction skills with AI tools
- Critical thinking about AI outputs and limitations
- Awareness of ethical considerations in AI use
- Knowing when and how to leverage AI to enhance productivity
For us here at EC3, it means that we have a responsibility to teach our students more than just the classroom curricula. Obviously, that's still necessary; it's our mission, after all. But we also need to go further and teach our students how to incorporate AI into their workflows in a way that will translate into the world beyond academia. It would be unethical and academically dishonest, for example, for us to allow students to have AI write their term papers just as it would be grounds for termination for an employee to have AI complete work that s/he has been paid to do. Both students and employees have to learn how to perform the tasks and skills first, and then they can learn how to incorporate AI as a helpful tool. It's all about perspective: AI is there to help, explain concepts, make suggestions, and provide feedback. It's not now nor will it ever be a total replacement for the human brain.
We've already seen what can happen when AI isn't used responsibly and ethically. Recently, a reporter in Chicago got into some hot water for asking AI to generate a list of recommended summer reading texts; AI did just that, and it used real authors. So far, so good, right? Yep, but it also went on to invent a list of book titles that don't exist. Oops! The reporter didn't check the work and published the article; at a minimum, said reporter is awash in embarrassment, but he could (and maybe should?) face termination for this unethical, dishonest behavior. AI should be used to help, not cut corners. It's our job to teach that because, obviously, AI is here to stay.
Let's look at some concrete examples of how AI is already changing or could change jobs right here in our community:
- Healthcare: At UPMC Hamot and Saint Vincent Hospital, nurses now use AI-powered diagnostic support tools. These systems don't replace nurses' clinical judgment but enhance it by identifying potential issues in patient data that might otherwise be missed.
- Manufacturing: At local manufacturers like Berry Plastics and Machining Concepts, production line workers increasingly work alongside collaborative robots and AI-powered quality control systems. These tools handle repetitive tasks while workers focus on oversight, problem-solving, and exception handling.
- Retail: Even small businesses on Peach Street and in downtown Erie are adopting AI-powered inventory management and customer relationship systems. Sales associates now spend less time on inventory counts and more time on personalized customer engagement.
In each of these examples, AI is a tool that helps streamline processes to increase worker efficiency. Our students need to be ready to use these tools.
As I reflected on that conference in DC on my way back to Erie, one thing became abundantly clear: our mission as a community college has never been more vital. We stand at the critical intersection between emerging technologies and workforce preparation. We are, indeed, experiencing change at a faster rate than ever before and slower than we will ever see again. The quote on my window isn't meant to induce anxiety about the future but to inspire us to action now. Yes, the pace of change is unprecedented, but so too is our capacity to adapt when given the right tools and knowledge. In a world where change is the only constant, learning becomes our most valuable skill. And that, after all, is what we do.
Our community: your college.
