AI companies like OpenAI are insinuating themselves into the pathway from education to work.
asserted
companies → insinuate → work
Soon they may claim it entirely, a disastrous result for students.
uncertain
they → claim → students
We know that students are using AI at school and at university.
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students → know → university
In conversations with those I teach, I’m struck by the trust many place in it.
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many → teach → it
They turn to ChatGPT and similar tools for personal problems as well as study help.
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They → turn → problems
Some even doubt their abilities without AI.
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Some → doubt → AI
Institutions are working hard to adapt.
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Institutions → work → ?
But we need to urgently look up from the use of AI to pay attention to big AI companies’ attempts to take over the educational pipeline, else we lose sight of the people that matter, our students.
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that → need → people
The industry has spent the past few years making our young people afraid of unemployment.
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people → spend → unemployment
Now it’s claiming to have a solution: more AI.
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it → claim → solution
On a website introducing its new certification programs, OpenAI gives a peek into the bigger picture.
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OpenAI → introduce → picture
The company says it wants to “connect learning, certification and real economic opportunity in one clear journey, laying the foundation for our upcoming OpenAI Jobs Platform”.
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it → say → Platform
That means offering education, credentials and access to work – owning the entire pipeline, infusing AI at every step.
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That → mean → step
The company is positioning itself to directly compete with universities.
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company → position → universities
I don’t mean that we’ll soon see shiny new ChatGPT campuses.
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we → mean → campuses
These companies don’t need to build a university out of bricks and mortar to take over key parts of higher education.
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companies → need → education
They already own the tools where learning and work are increasingly happening – next, they can compete with universities by brokering access to employment.
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they → own → employment
As big AI companies search for a business model beyond subscriptions, universities need to be alert to this threat and urgently protect their position.
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universities → search → position
Otherwise, the possibility of an independent path for students may be lost.
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possibility → lose → students
Big AI is slowly commandeering the pathway
Even though many young people are ambivalent towards AI, it’s easy to see why they’d trust a service that’s explained accounting calmly and patiently for the 20th time and counselled them through a breakup.
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that → commandeer → breakup
Now OpenAI is extending its close relationship with students even further, hiring students as campus ambassadors.
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OpenAI → extend → ambassadors
The recruitment ad for joining what the company calls the Student Collective promises prospective campus leads “robust training in our tools, funding, swag and access to a community of remarkable peers”.
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campus → join → peers
Such a program gives OpenAI even greater access to students.
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program → give → students
Getting inside a community is a way to win trust and influence.
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Getting → get → trust
It also gives you data that can inform your next move.
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that → give → move
At the same time, AI companies are getting boots on the ground within employers.
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companies → get → employers
The OpenAI Deployment Company launched this year, with “more than $4bn of initial investment”.
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Company → launch → investment
It’s sending over 150 “forward deployed engineers”, a military metaphor used to describe engineers embedded in companies, to the “frontlines” of its network of organisations to re-engineer work around OpenAI’s tools.
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It → send → tools
But a company that is at the centre of shaping work across industries also sees and influences what employers are looking for.
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employers → shape → what
That puts OpenAI in a powerful position to broker the relationship between students and employers.
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That → put → students
It can help shape the skills employers want, while becoming increasingly involved in how students learn those skills and prepare for work.
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students → help → work
So, OpenAI will have insight and influence over students and their learning on one hand, and employers’ workflows and needs on the other.
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OpenAI → have → other
With that, all that is needed for OpenAI to unbundle universities is credentialing.
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OpenAI → need → universities
And it’s doing that, too.
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it → do → that
In collaboration with companies including Accenture and John Deere, OpenAI is now offering certificates meant to lead to employment opportunities.
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OpenAI → include → opportunities
That’s not new – tech providers have always taught people how to use their tools.
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providers → ’ → tools
The difference this time is how the credentials fit into a larger ambition to capture every step of the journey from learning to work.
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credentials → fit → work
Look at the language it uses to sell the delivery of the program: “A full learning experience is available directly inside ChatGPT, where learners can practice real tasks, receive feedback in context, and reflect on their work in a single environment.
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learners → look → environment
ChatGPT acts as the tutor, the practice space, and the feedback loop.”
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ChatGPT → act → tutor
A single learning environment, and one clear journey.
OpenAI could soon be selling young people a one-stop-shop for learning, credentials and a job, all heavily dependent on its tools.
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all → sell → tools
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
