As ChatGPT turns two, it’s clear that the artificial intelligence revolution it sparked is not fizzling out, but gathering pace, and it’s set to change both the skills young people need in the future job market and the way they learn in school and in higher education.
Investment in AI hit $25.2 billion in 2023, according to Stanford University’s AI Index, having multiplied by eight over the previous year. In the same way the web started as a research project at CERN, and very rapidly spread and impacted every aspect of our lives, generative AI has rapidly moved from the laboratory to become a world-changing force. This time, the speed has increased. The consequences for the skills young people need, and the way they learn, will be enormous.
For the next generation of workers, AI will change not only the jobs they do, but the skills they require, and the exams and assessments they deal with. Young people are already enthusiastically embracing this technology. Our recent research on AI usage found that almost three-quarters of students (72%) already use AI to help with their studies. For the generation that is growing up with AI, being ‘AI literate’ will be equivalent to being ‘tech literate’ – and being unable to use generative AI tools effectively will be the equivalent of being unable to open a PDF file today.
Embracing AI
Teenagers and young adults are already using AI to learn, and not in the way that many parents and teachers suspect: by using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT to write their essays. Our research at GoStudent found that teenagers tend to use AI to help understand ideas. Almost two-thirds of students (62%) use AI to help them understand complicated concepts, and 82% say they use it for research and understanding subjects. A third of students (31%) also prize AI for its 24-7 availability.
Students say that they prefer human interaction over working with AI alone (this is the number one barrier to students using AI), highlighting an opportunity for educators to use AI in a group setting. Reassuringly, students seem to be acutely aware of the limitations of AI, with 21% fearing that it might be inaccurate, and almost half of students worrying that the use of AI might make them lazier.
New roles, new skills
Understanding AI is going to be crucial to thriving in the job market of tomorrow. We are already seeing that more and more companies are focusing on AI skills and big data skills, and ambitious young people need to be prepared for a future where AI is central to every field of work. Having an understanding of AI tools, how to use them and how they work will not just prepare students for the future, it will give them the skills they need to shape that future.
But for tomorrow’s leaders, while AI will undoubtedly be front and centre in the employment market, soft skills such as communication, leadership and understanding will never have been more important. Using intelligent tools effectively as part of a team requires ‘soft’ and creative skills: for example, being able to use several AI tools at once without being overwhelmed, and being able to step back, take a critical view and understand a situation. Skills such as mentoring and leadership will grow in importance, as will the ability to explain and understand AI output.
From theory to the practice
For the generation that is currently growing up with AI, it’s not just that they will need new skills: the way they learn skills and are assessed for them will change. Rather than being expected to rote-learn a subject, or to write an essay demonstrating mastery of a topic, students will be challenged, for example, to use an AI tool such as ChatGPT or Claude to help them learn new skills, then be tested on those skills, whether that be writing an effective pitch deck, or creating a business plan for a start-up.
In the age of AI, learning that takes the form of a memory test is no longer adequate. AI can empower young people to learn in a different way, using tools to acquire skills and deal with knowledge far more rapidly than was possible for previous generations. For young people, this is likely to mean an education system with frequent tests and strict monitoring, perhaps with more emphasis on complex, project-based work.
A smarter future
Two years after the launch of ChatGPT it’s clear that generative AI’s impact on how students learn, and the skills they need in education and the future job market will be lasting and profound. Today’s teenagers are already embracing AI technology: not as a ‘cheat’, but as a way of deepening their understanding. The workplace of tomorrow will be a very different place, and the skills today’s young people require are changing. To deliver the skills young people need to shape this future, educators need to adopt new ways of teaching to help young people steer towards an exciting, AI-augmented future.
About the Author
Gregor Müller is the Co-Founder and COO of GoStudent, one of the world’s leading tutoring providers and education platforms. In March 2023, he was named on the Forbes Europe 30 under 30 Technology list.
