3.37. Dr. Paul J. Maurer - Montreat College

Dr. JP Novin and Dr. Paul Maurer discuss AI’s growing impact on the workforce and education, with Dr. Maurer, President of Montreat College, emphasizing that AI is reshaping learning from K–doctorate and poses the greatest risk to “knowledge workers,” as defined by Peter Drucker. Dr. Maurer explains Montreat College’s response, including developing a theological position on AI to affirm the distinction between humans and technology, promoting AI literacy through responsible use, and launching an AI minor under the college’s nationally recognized Center for Cyber Security Education and Research, designated a Center of Academic Excellence by the NSA in 2017. He underscores that Montreat’s mission in higher education is to form human beings with character and wisdom, framing challenges like AI and cybersecurity as fundamentally human issues and suggesting that AI may push higher education back toward core liberal arts principles—especially learning how to ask truly meaningful questions.