AI lessons for education and the job market

Arab News

3 days ago

https://arab.news/gxys2
We cannot get away from talking about the impact of artificial intelligence on education and employment. Everyone is using or is being encouraged to use AI in their education systems, at work, and in everyday activities. It does definitely make things easier, faster, and cheaper to accomplish. Yet, it has its downsides — unavoidable transformational consequences — which we must know how to deal with in order to turn them into opportunities and advantages.
In education, I saw firsthand how it is being used by students, even seniors, for their research papers and presentations, and I did not like it. How some simply copy-and-pasted whatever it produced without even reading to check for errors, accuracy, or cohesiveness was shocking. There was little originality, creativity, analysis or self-expression. I told my students that by relying on AI to think for you, do your research, and write your papers, you are making yourself obsolete in the job market. Why would someone hire 10 people who will give them the same output by using AI when one person can do that? As using AI technology becomes more accessible, easier, and mostly free, schools should teach and introduce policies for its ethical use.
The problem is not only in the lazy, convenient way of using ready-made content. A recent study at MIT's Media Lab on the impact of using ChatGPT on the brain suggested that it could harm learning, especially for younger users. The study found that it affects long-term brain development, harms critical thinking abilities, and weakens memory retention. However, if used properly, AI could enhance learning as opposed to diminishing it.
There was little originality, creativity or self-expression
Maha Akeel
Another study from Microsoft found that the higher the user's level of confidence in AI, the lower the critical thinking, while the higher a user's self-confidence, the greater their use of critical thinking. This is related to how much individuals rely on AI because they have more confidence in it than in their own abilities. According to the study, the ability to engage in reflective problem-solving and independent analysis may decline in those who rely heavily on AI for information retrieval and decision making. An important and worrying finding was that younger participants aged 17–25 — the age group for university students — showed greater dependence on AI tools and lower thinking scores than did older age groups.
Integration of AI into the education system poses a dilemma. On one hand, it can serve as a powerful tool to enhance learning, providing personalized feedback, automating mundane tasks, and analyzing large datasets. On the other hand, there is a risk that students may become overly reliant on the technology, leading to a decline in critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as reducing learning motivation and engagement. The challenge for educators is to determine where and how to integrate AI to make the most of its benefits, while simultaneously helping students develop their thinking skills.
Since this technological advancement will be increasingly prominent in many sectors of work and life, it is important to have frank conversations about it, and continue to refine our education strategies and teaching approaches. Saudi Arabia recently announced that it will integrate AI education throughout the country's public school system — from elementary school up to university as well as technical training and lifelong learning — beginning in the coming academic year. This is a timely and necessary step to adapt to these developments, and to improve the country's global competitiveness and AI leadership in accordance with Vision 2030. However, it is important to keep in mind the benefits and risks, especially for young users.
Meanwhile, in the job market, AI is changing the types of jobs and skills needed in the future. New roles emerging include AI trainers and teachers, data analysts and scientists, human-machine teaming managers, and AI ethics and policy specialists.
Importantly, AI is creating new job opportunities that require the skills of critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving. According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, analytical thinking remains the most sought-after core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it essential. This is followed by resilience, flexibility, and agility, along with leadership and social influence. Over the 2025-2030 period, AI and big data top the list of fastest-growing skills, followed closely by networks and cybersecurity as well as technology literacy.
Complementing these technology-related skills, creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, and agility, along with curiosity and lifelong learning, are also expected to continue to rise in importance. Conversely, as the use of automation and robots increases, manual dexterity, endurance, and precision skills are likely to decline in demand, with 24 percent of respondents foreseeing a decrease in their importance.
Analytical thinking remains the most sought-after core skill
Maha Akeel
Not surprisingly, 63 percent of employers surveyed globally in the WEF report identified the skill gaps as the biggest barrier to business transformation over the 2025-2030 period. In Saudi Arabia, the figure was 79 percent. Accordingly, 85 percent of employers surveyed globally plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce, with 70 percent of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40 percent planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50 percent planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.
According to the report, on average, workers can expect that two-fifths of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period. The skills disruption — the share of core skills likely to change — in Saudi Arabia is expected to be 40 percent. A growing focus is on continuous learning, and upskilling and reskilling programs, thus enabling companies to better predict and manage future skill requirements, especially in AI.
The Future of Jobs report indicates that 24 percent of employers in Saudi Arabia think that talent is available for hiring in 2025 compared with the world average of 29 percent, but in the Kingdom they are optimistic in that 45 percent expect talent availability to improve in five years, with 69 percent planning to develop the talent of existing workforce, and 55 percent to retain talent of existing workforce.
According to the report, as employers in Saudi Arabia scale up technology investments, over 70 percent identify technological literacy as a skill on the rise in the country, followed by demand for skills in networks and cybersecurity, and AI and big data. Furthermore, 38 percent of companies operating in the Kingdom expect to remove degree requirements in order to improve talent availability, compared with a global average of 19 percent.
All these foresights and expectations in the job market in relation to AI and its impact require major changes in the education system, not only in what to teach, but also in how to teach and engage with students. This means focusing not only on improving the tools, but also the skills of teachers and trainers.