A panel gathered at UMD’s Weber Music Hall Friday to discuss the future of higher education. The conversation touched on heavy topics like artificial intelligence, rising tuition costs, and how to provide the best education possible for students. As students graduate, if they are not AI fluent, they are not competitive for jobs,” said panelist and University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. Research shows that the use of AI in the workplace has doubled in the last two years to 40%. While AI continues to grow every day, both students and faculty are learning to use it and integrate it into their curriculum. “These are tools, they are not a substitute for a human being. You still need the critical thinking, you need the ethical guidelines, even more so,” said Sheets.