To many in leadership roles at universities, higher education is facing an inflection point. Conversations about what education can and should be are permeating the culture, and leaders are having high level discussions about what comes next.

There is a challenge to build an economy that actually works for people, especially in a future increasingly defined by automation and inequality. These sentiments were some of those discussed by UCLA Extension Dean Eric Bullard and his guest, entrepreneur, author and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, at a special Dean’s Luncheon on June 16. The two embarked on a wide-ranging conversation about how to move education forward in a time of uncertainty.

“The way in which higher education is designed: you learn first, work second and then you retire – I would argue that model is dead,” Bullard said. “So, we need to think about how we are going to serve society in the future.”

Yang agreed that the old ways of thinking about higher education are being increasingly scrutinized. He noted that about two-thirds of the U.S. population does not graduate from a four-year university, and many people do not see it as a ticket to the middle class anymore.

“These people are largely correct, in my opinion,” he said.

With the internet, more knowledge is more readily available to people than at any other time, he added, so college is often most useful as a place to learn critical thinking and social skills. University leaders will have to figure out how to be nimble, something Yang said he has noticed in the way UCLA Extension operates.

“UCLA Extension can actually go to its students and say, ‘We’re going to give you these courses of study that lead to these specific opportunities,’” he said. “You have a very positive orientation and mission.”

Bullard said that he has seen an uptick in interest from university leaders regarding how continuing education operates and where they could incorporate some of those strategies.

“We need to make sure we structure an organization to serve the students and meet them where they’re at. That’s important,” Bullard said.

Yang added that there is a worry in society that universities can be too insular and fail to broadly serve the public.

“I think that critique is actually pretty legitimate,” he said. “It’s one reason the work you do at UCLA Extension is really awesome, because it is actually broad and accessible and meant to elevate people at every stage of life.”

Yang went on to talk about the influence of artificial intelligence and automation, and the fears people are dealing with related to those advancements decimating the future workforce. He noted that in this type of economy, having instructors who provide up-to-date and real-world lessons and experiences will be very important.

“And what you’ve done is you’ve assembled the actual practitioners,” Yang said.

“We know we have these amazing instructors that are actually out there doing the work,” Bullard said. “They work at the companies. They’re actually out there doing the work and getting people employed. It’s important we provide this opportunity for our students.”

Yang admitted that even he is guilty of outsourcing entry-level work to AI, but he also noted that many business leaders will need AI experts to help them navigate the new technology.

“The most senior folks in AI are literally only 8 months ahead of your students. There is no one that is that far ahead of your students,” he said. “If you say to your students, ‘Hey, become excellent at this and you will have superpowers,’ that is true.”

And in a future of AI and automation, Yang said it was important as a society to build a parallel economy emphasizing things like art, wellness and caretaking – what he called the “human-centered economy.”

“This is my mission in life, because it’s the only upside to the situation we’re in,” he said.

Yang said he would want his children to live as happy, brilliant, resilient and adaptable members of society. And education will need to provide “things that people actually want and will pay for.”

“There is going to be massive pressure on educational institutions, but UCLA Extension is fairly well positioned,” he added.