March 4, 2026
Something important is happening in technology right now, and it is beginning to affect how we work, how we teach, and how we run our businesses.
It is called Agentic AI.
Before that term causes you to tune out, let’s explain it simply.
Most people have experimented with chat based AI tools. You type in a question. It gives you an answer. That is helpful, but it is limited.
Agentic AI goes further.
Instead of answering one question, it can take on a full assignment. You might ask it to compare vendors, draft a proposal, build a budget, revise the language, and improve the result based on feedback. It can break a big task into steps and carry them out.
It acts more like a fast assistant than a search engine.
But here is the part that matters.
It does not have values.
It does not understand our local context.
It does not take responsibility.
We do.
That shift changes education. It also changes business.
For many years, universities taught from the bottom up. Students learned theory first. Then procedures. Then detailed calculations. Only later did they apply those skills to real problems.
That made sense when humans were the only ones doing the work.
Today, AI can perform many of the technical steps. What it cannot do is decide what problem is worth solving, which method fits best, or whether the answer makes sense in Centre County, in your company, or in your classroom.
That is still human work.
Because of that, some educators are arguing for a top-down approach.
Start with the assignment.
Give students a real problem.
Have them evaluate different methods.
Teach the theory that explains why a method works.
Then use AI tools to help execute, while students validate and interpret the results.
This is not about replacing fundamentals. It is about teaching judgment earlier.
For local business owners, this is not abstract.
Agentic AI capabilities are already appearing in accounting software, marketing platforms, scheduling systems, and inventory tools. These systems can draft emails, forecast demand, optimize staffing, and analyze performance data.
The risk is not that AI replaces everyone.
The risk is that the people who learn how to guide it effectively move ahead faster than those who ignore it.
At the same time, fear is understandable. Many people worry about jobs, about overreliance, about losing human connection.
Those concerns deserve conversation, not dismissal.
Penn State sits at the center of this moment. The students we educate today will lead companies, nonprofits, and research labs across this region. If we teach them only how to execute steps, we miss the larger shift. If we teach them how to define problems, question outputs, and take responsibility for decisions, we prepare them for what is coming.
This is not about hype.
It is about readiness.
If this topic raises questions for you, good. It should. Join us tonight at Pine Grove Hall. I will be there, not as someone with all the answers, but as someone asking better questions. If you are a student, faculty member, business owner, or community member trying to understand what this means for your future, come be part of the discussion.
And if you cannot attend, I would genuinely welcome your thoughts.
What concerns you?
What excites you?
Where do you see this showing up already in your work?
The conversation is just beginning. Let’s have it together. Comment below.
About the Author
Dr. Frank Archibald worked in the aerospace industry and later spent more than 20 years as an employee of Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory Water Tunnel facility. During that time, he taught multiple mechanical engineering courses and, for fifteen years, led a two-semester capstone design sequence in the Master of Manufacturing Management one-year MSc program. It was through this experience that he recognized the growing misalignment between traditional undergraduate education and professional decision-making environments. He now volunteers with Discovery Space and The Rivet and advises students in the Penn State Wind Energy Club as they compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition.
Understanding AI Session 3: Creativity & Ethics
Wed, Mar 4 @ 7:00PM — 9:00PM Tonight!
SESSION THREE: Art, Music, Writing — and the Questions That Come With It.
PRESENTED BY Chris Gamrat, Associate Teaching Professor, College of Information Sciences and Technology
