Rumor has it that the next big thing from Apple could
be an electric car. Economist Alex Tabarrok would rather see the computer giant
sink its cash into a university.
To Tabarrok, an Apple University could serve as the
proving ground for educational technologies. He envisions an institution of
higher education that could become a leader in online technologies, artificial-intelligence
tutors, and virtual-reality experimentation.
In addition, Apple’s worldwide reputation would help
attract the best students, which would create a greater demand for Apple
educational products. The firm has already started the process with iTunes U
and training courses in business and design, according to Tabarrok.
“More than a century ago, Stanford, Carnegie, and
Rockefeller used their industrial-age fortunes to build some of our best universities,”
Tabarrok wrote in Marginal Revolution. “Isn’t it time for another great university built for
the information age?”