Calvin Nobles, the new dean of the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) School of Cybersecurity and Information Technology, told participants at a recent conference that artificial intelligence (AI) and workforce development—including a need for universities to re-envision learning—are among the top-of-mind areas impacted by cybersecurity challenges.
During a panel discussion at the 2024 Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) STEM Conference in Baltimore, Nobles also expressed concern about the security of the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
“To protect our elections, we need to gain control of mis- and disinformation around politics and hold platform owners accountable,” he cautioned.
The BEYA conference, held Feb. 14-17, looked at current and emerging technology opportunities, offered career advice and championed STEM education. Its robust programming brought together K-12 and college students; corporate, government and military professionals; and business and industry employers for three days of learning and networking.
Nobles and Renata Spinks, former cyber technology officer with the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command and now president of CyberSec International, took part in the panel discussion moderated by Ian Trimble, director of business development at BAE Systems and a former commanding officer of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Spinks offered that the success of cybersecurity in general lies in the ability of decision makers to trust their people. “The danger comes from leaders who won’t listen to their network operators, the ones who know the network better than anyone else,” she said.
The panelists envisioned a cost-versus-benefit struggle with AI. While artificial intelligence brings speed and a level of repetition that humans cannot replicate, those advantages could prove costly in the hands of an adversary.
“We will start seeing an algorithmic warfare, and the one who can manipulate the algorithms will win,” Nobles explained.
Nobles also said the rise in AI will impact how people are trained and retrained for the workforce.
“Companies are saying ‘I can't wait five or six years for someone to come on board,’” said Nobles. “Now we need to look at how we teach students in environments where we train them to do some things but not everything.”
He said academia must take on a new shape, both in terms of how students learn and who teaches them.
“I will never engage in what’s better, a certification or a degree,” said Nobles. “Everybody’s situation is different, whereby a certification might be their first step to something great.”
On the teaching side, he noted, colleges and universities will be challenged to scale up.
“We need to ask professionals who are employed in the industry to come and teach. That is a winning model,” said Nobles.
Share This