Is AI essential in education?

Welcome to the 1,107 new techies who have joined us.

If you haven’t already, subscribe and join our community in receiving weekly tech insights, updates, and interviews with industry experts straight to your inbox.

Discover exclusive interviews and perspective-shifting insights, in your inbox every week. 

This week we’re quoting Dr. Lin Zhou (SVP and Chief Information Officer at The New School)

What Dr. Zhou said: 

“AI holds the promise of revolutionising the learning experience, enabling students to harness vast repositories of data and cutting-edge technologies to augment their educational journey.”

Do we need to rethink AI in education? 

There are loads of conversations going on around the world about what AI can bring to education. But something that not quite as many people are saying is this: 

AI will soon be essential in education. Because if it’s not a part of the way students learn, then schools and universities won’t be preparing them for the world they’re growing into. 

We know this isn’t a new thought. For years, people have been lamenting outdated educational systems that are designed for a world that no longer exists; training young people to thrive in a system of work that can’t offer them the opportunities they need. 

On the blog this week, we wrote about the ways in which AI can enable more inclusive education. Around the world, education authorities are increasingly vocal about the benefits of AI integration, both for the management of schools and teacher workloads, and for student learning outcomes. 

But it’s easy to get caught up on the pros and cons of AI in education – and not so easy to zoom out and look at it from the perspective of the wider world. We need to ask what the working world is going to look like for young people in five, ten, twenty years; and when we do that, it’s clear that understanding AI will be one of the keys to a successful, fulfilling career. 

It’s not just about knowing how to leverage AI tools 

Much of the discourse around AI in education focuses on how important it is for young people to know how to use AI, and understand the specific systems that will influence the way different jobs are done. 

But we want to get a little more sociological than that. It’s not just about tech – it’s also very much about understanding the way that technology is changing the world of work. 

The route into a good career has changed. Working hard at school and university no longer holds the promise of consistent progression through an industry. Today, with so much of our working lives augmented by digital tech, more reliable drivers of success include: 

• A strong personal brand that can carry you through multiple company or career changes.
• The ability to adapt to changes in tech and in your industry – rather than hyper-focusing on specific skill-sets that can quickly become redundant.
• Dedication to continuous learning. Closely linked to our last point about adaptability, the willingness to embrace learning as an ongoing endeavour is so important, to enable young people to ride the waves of change across industries.
• A strong network and networking skills. Knowing how and where to connect with others (both offline and online) and build relationships that make things happen is, arguably, more important in the digital era than any school or university qualification.

Each of these aspects can form the shape of a person who has real potential to thrive in today’s working landscape. And AI is woven through all of this; it’s the technology that’s transforming work the most significantly and at the fastest pace. So if students aren’t introduced to these technological-social dynamics, they’re missing out. 

Could schools teach all of this? 

In theory, yes. In reality, we know it’s much harder (and slower) to change educational curriculums than we’d like, and we can’t expect an overnight shift in the way young people are prepared for the world of work. 

But the integration of AI into modern educational curriculums is essential. Yes, it brings a whole host of learning benefits. But just as importantly, it also gives students lived experience of the impact of AI on learning and work; of the rapid pace with which AI technologies change, and the way that affects the people using it; and a starting point, at least, to begin looking at work from the point of view of the present day. 

Have an idea for a topic you'd like us to cover? We're eager to hear it. Drop us a message and share your thoughts.

Catch you next week,
The LEAP Team