In the developing landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), Ethan Mollick’s new book, "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI" (Penguin, 2024), describes the interplay between human and machine intelligence. Lee Vickers, retired president of Dickinson State University, is an advocate for lifelong learning. In a recent email to me, he highly recommended Mollick's book. Vickers, who modeled the principles of continuous education throughout his career, remarked, "If I were still president, I would make this book required reading."
Dr. Lee Vickers served as a college and university president for three regional institutes of higher education. As president of Dickinson State from 1999 to 2008, he expanded higher education’s role in regional economic development. Dr. Vickers' recommendation aligns with his vision of equipping students and professionals with the skills needed to succeed.
Mollick, a professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, highlights the impact of AI on business and education, using numerous real-world examples. Mollick's broader message encourages a balanced approach to AI, urging individuals and organizations to embrace AI in a thought-provoking, optimistic, and engaging manner. He notes concerns about AI such as data privacy and dependence on AI. He encourages readers to remain “the human in the loop.” He cautions that one of AI’s weaknesses is that it doesn’t actually “know” anything. AI simply predicts the next word in a sequence. If you ask it something it doesn’t know, it will simply make something up.
The author notes that one of the first questions people ask him is if AI will affect their jobs. The answer is probably yes. His team at Wharton analyzed 1,016 jobs, and only 36 were projected to be unaffected by AI. The unaffected jobs include dancers, athletes, and roofers. Jobs with routine and repetitive tasks are more susceptible to automation. Mollick writes that these jobs include data entry and certain aspects of customer service, such as call center representatives.
Mollick discusses ChatGPT’s impact on the classroom. AI, according to Mollick, is a once-in-a-generation technology similar to steam power or the internet. ChatGPT reached 100 million users in 10 weeks, faster than any product in history.
Less than a week after ChatGPT was launched in November 2022, I brought the tool up on my classroom screen and typed in the query, “Write a short essay on the impact of the Badlands on Theodore Roosevelt.” Within a few seconds, ChatGPT began writing, “When Roosevelt first ventured into the rugged terrain of the North Dakota Badlands in 1883, he was a young man grappling with personal tragedy. The untimely deaths of his mother and wife on the same day had left him devastated. Seeking solace, he immersed himself in the stark and unforgiving landscape of the Badlands, where he established a cattle ranch.”
My Business Ethics students were stunned. Only one student had even heard of ChatGPT. The room fell silent. Two of my students were elementary education majors. They protested that no second grader would write like that, so I adjusted my query to rewrite the essay like a second grader. Within a few seconds, ChatGPT spewed out, “The Badlands were very important to Theodore Roosevelt. When he first went there in 1883, he was very sad because his mom and wife had both died on the same day. He needed a place to feel better, so he went to the Badlands in North Dakota and started a cattle ranch.”
As we now know, ChatGPT and its ilk are not infallible. One might quibble that when Theodore Roosevelt started his cattle ranch in the Badlands in 1883, North Dakota did not exist as a state. At that time, the region was part of the Dakota Territory, which included both what would later become North Dakota and South Dakota.
Another glaring error is that Roosevelt came to the Dakota Territory in 1883 to shoot a buffalo and because of that experience, invested in the Maltese Cross Ranch prior to returning to New York. His wife and mother did not die in 1883, they died on February 14, 1884.
In conclusion, Ethan Mollick's "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI" provides a comprehensive exploration of the interplay between human and artificial intelligence. The book is a valuable resource for understanding the profound changes AI brings to education and business. A special nod to Dr. Lee Vickers for recommending this important book.
By: Debora Dragseth, Baker Boy Professor of Leadership | School of Business and Entrepreneurship Dickinson State University
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