Author Archives: Bryan Alexander

Thinking about the future of the web

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

How might the web change? Today I’m giving a speech to the Reclaim conference in Virginia, and was asked by the mad Jim Groom to help them envision futures of the world wide web. Naturally I asked SlidesGPT to create … Continue reading →

Posted in education and technology, presentations and talks, technology | 3 Comments

Climate change: another week of a ratcheting up crisis

Posted on June 4, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

I’m writing this post in between a series of projects in various stages of deadlines.  Publishing the June FTTE report, getting ready to head out to the Reclaim conference, organizing a stack of in-person and virtual speaking engagements into next … Continue reading →

Posted in climatechange | 4 Comments

Looking ahead 200 years: another age of epic growth

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

What will humanity do next, after two centuries of extraordinary growth? Last week I asked this futures question, starting off by introducing the incredible boom humanity experience after around 1800 and continuing through the present day. I then offered one … Continue reading →

Posted in futures | 3 Comments

What does the future look like if humanity shrinks, instead of grows?

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

Greetings from a pleasant long May weekend in northeastern Virginia.  There’s a holiday on Monday, which makes these three days a good time for reflection.  (Also work, but that’s a different matter.). I’ve been working on a project sub rosa … Continue reading →

Posted in futures | 17 Comments

Two stories of campuses doing something about climate change

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

Just a short post today, sharing two positive stories about academic institutions taking concrete action about climate change. ITEM: in Illinois, Loyola University Chicago is re-sourcing its electrical power to a renewable provider.  Loyala will purchase power from a nascent … Continue reading →

Posted in climatechange | Leave a comment

American higher education enrollment decline returns to pre-pandemic level

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

How is higher education enrollment changing? This week the invaluable National Student Clearinghouse Research Center published their latest data on American college and university enrollment. Today I’ll summarize the findings, then point to implications for academia’s future. tl;dr summary – … Continue reading →

Posted in enrollment | 6 Comments

Some large-scale decisions we can make about AI in 2023

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

In my current work on forecasting the intersection of AI and higher ed, I’ve been running into an interesting problem.  Well, several, but today I’d like to share a structural one, caught between futures thinking and where AI is right … Continue reading →

Posted in automation | 14 Comments

Americans’ religious beliefs in transformation: new research

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

How is religious belief changing, and what does this mean for the future? The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has published new findings about American religious behavior, and the results are fascinating.  “Religion and Congregations in a Time of Social … Continue reading →

Posted in research topics | 1 Comment

New York announces a climate change campus

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

How might higher education respond to the climate crisis? One answer to this very large question is for a given campus to expand its academic teaching on the topic, across the curriculum.  A second answer involves expanding a college or … Continue reading →

Posted in climatechange | 1 Comment

When will the first university or college charge $100,000 per year?

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Bryan Alexander

When will the first American college or university charge $100,000 or more to attend? What might that mean for higher education? I first asked this question back in 2018.  I wanted to use that psychologically important six figure price as … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, future of education, higher education | Tagged | 17 Comments