Honors Pulse Panel Examines AI's Impact on the Workforce

It has become one of the most familiar pieces of career advice: to compete in the modern workforce, learn how to use artificial intelligence. But that advice assumes we already know what kind of workforce AI is creating. 

Artificial intelligence is influencing far more than how people complete their daily tasks. It is reshaping investment and financial markets, changing what students are expected to learn and giving employers new tools to recruit, evaluate and monitor workers. It may create new industries and opportunities even as it transforms or eliminates existing jobs. 

Supporters see the potential for greater productivity, economic growth and wider access to powerful tools. They argue that AI fluency will be essential for workers and institutions hoping to remain competitive in a rapidly changing economy. 

The growing use of AI also raises important questions about how these systems operate in the workplace. Researchers and policymakers are examining how AI may influence decisions about hiring, interviews and promotions; how employers should use technologies that monitor workers' behavior or apparent emotions; and whether access to these tools will expand economic opportunity or reinforce existing disparities. 

That leaves workers, educators and policymakers confronting questions that are simultaneously practical and profound. How should the use of AI be governed? Do existing employment and anti-discrimination laws offer enough protection? How should schools prepare students for jobs that are themselves changing? What role should AI play in workplace decisions that require judgment about people?  

The Honors College's upcoming Pulse Panel will bring together experts in law, philosophy, economics and education policy to examine how AI is reshaping the workforce and what that transformation could mean for economic opportunity, individual rights and the future of work. 

The event is scheduled for 4:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, in GEAR 130.   

Faculty and industry professionals who will provide context and lead a question-and-answer session include:   

• Jenna Donohue, assistant professor of philosophy in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 

• Raja Kali, chair of the Economics Department and professor of economics in the Sam M. Walton College of Business 

• Harry Patrinos, department head of education reform and 21st Century Endowed Chair in Education Policy in the College of Education and Health Professions 

• Kim Petrone, teaching associate professor of business law in the Walton College of Business 

The panel will be moderated by honors students.    

Attendees are invited to enjoy pizza and refreshments during the discussion. The event is open to the entire campus. Please RSVP via Hogsync.   

"AI is becoming an important question for education policy," Patrinos said. "How students learn to use it may shape their opportunities at work, while the way employers adopt it could affect jobs and earnings. The stakes are too high for any one discipline to answer these questions alone. We need perspectives from education, economics, law, philosophy and, especially, students." 

The Honors College Pulse discussion series began in 2016 and was named in remembrance of victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings. Discussion topics are generated by honors students. The discussions allow students to ask questions about current events and trends and to learn holistically from varying interdisciplinary perspectives across campus. Panel discussions have featured conversations around nuclear proliferation, affirmative action, the Dakota Access Pipeline Project, Roe v. Wade, the viral phenomenon of "Barbenheimer," the legal ramifications and decisions related to hate crimes, ways to fight local hunger and poverty, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, Bad Bunny and more.   

About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and brings together high-achieving undergraduate students and the university's top professors to share transformative learning experiences. Each year the Honors College awards fellowships that provide $80,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students' academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. All Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored research.