Artificial Intelligence: from subject of study to growth tool

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has unleashed a whirlwind of conflicting emotions in the world of work and education. On the one hand, there is undeniable excitement about this revolutionary technology’s potential. On the other, there’s a palpable sense of unease: What skills do we need to acquire to avoid being left behind? How can we effectively understand and use these complex tools? However, perhaps we are looking at the problem from the wrong perspective. Instead of viewing AI as a subject to be studied, what if we embraced it as a powerful ally in our growth journey? This perspective could radically transform our approach to learning and professional development.

Highlight ✦ AI is not an obstacle to be overcome but a bridge to new opportunities for personal and professional growth.

The idea of AI as a tool for democratizing knowledge is not new. Just as computers revolutionized access to information, AI promises to personalize and streamline the learning process on a global scale. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, painted a fascinating picture of this future, envisioning “a near future where everyone has a personalized Oxford don in their employ, expert in every subject, and willing to explain and re-explain any concept, from any angle.”

This vision is already taking shape in many ways. In China, for example, Squirrel AI has developed a system based on what it calls a “large adaptive model” (LAM). Unlike more familiar large language models, this one doesn’t just provide generic explanations but adapts its approach based on the specific needs of each student. Working with human teachers, the system breaks down each topic into thousands of “knowledge points” to pinpoint gaps in students’ understanding.

The potential impact of these technologies is enormous, especially given the global challenges in education. UNESCO estimates that 44 million additional teachers will be needed by 2030 to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, 250 million children are not attending school. In this context, AI tutors could provide personalized educational materials tailored to the specific needs and abilities of students wherever they are in the world.

The impact of AI isn’t limited to formal education but extends into the workplace, redefining the concept of professional training. As fewer jobs require ever stepping foot in a physical office, early-career knowledge workers are missing these seemingly insignificant but crucial touchpoints. They often enter the workforce with little context or tangible examples of on-the-job training. AI could fill this gap by offering new forms of mentorship and training.

Highlight ✦ AI doesn’t replace human experience; it augments it, enabling more effective and personalized knowledge transfer.

Imagine one-on-one technical mentorship programs where junior employees are paired with AI-supported senior mentors who answer their questions for an hour each week. Or organizational overview sessions where new hires are explicitly briefed on the company’s structure and the responsibilities of each department, with AI providing detailed and real-time information updates.

This approach could not only accelerate young professionals’ learning curve but also allow them to move into mid-level positions much more quickly. As one remote work expert notes, “We’re definitely going to have people who are able to accelerate the learning curve [and] get into what we now think of as a mid-level job, much faster and earlier in their career.”

While public attention has focused on prompt engineering — the art of formulating precise instructions to elicit desired outcomes from AI — experts predict that this skill may soon become obsolete. Future generations of AI systems will be increasingly intuitive and capable of understanding natural language, reducing the need for meticulously engineered prompts.

Highlight ✦ The real skill of the future will not be AI prompting but knowing how to identify and formulate the problems that AI can help us solve.

What will emerge as a more enduring and adaptable skill is problem formulation: the ability to identify, analyze, and outline challenges that must be addressed. This often-overlooked skill will become increasingly crucial as AI evolves. For many of us, unfortunately, problem formulation is a widely undervalued and underdeveloped skill. This imbalance is perhaps best illustrated by the widespread but misleading managerial adage: “Don’t bring me problems; bring me solutions.” So, it is no surprise that a recent survey found that 85% of C-suite executives believe their organizations are poor at diagnosing problems.

Closing the loop, a more accessible and intuitive AI that can become an ally in bridging skills gaps is already a reality. WeSchool, for example, has developed an AI assistant that helps both industry experts and people with little experience in education design high-quality training content.

WeSchool’s AI Assistant doesn’t require users to write a prompt from scratch; instead, it is based on a guided question system that makes it easier to structure educational material, saving time and making the process more efficient.

In this way, anyone who is an expert in a subject but lacks the teaching skills needed to design a learning path can share their knowledge and ensure that others can fully understand it.

The goal is clear: to enable anyone to become an effective instructor without having to master the complex nuances of instructional design.

The goal is clear: to enable anyone who is an expert in a particular area of knowledge to harness the power of AI tools to teach others without having to master the complex nuances of instructional design.

This approach not only democratizes the creation of educational content but also allows professionals to save valuable time — up to 50% in many cases — which can be reinvested in higher value-added activities.

Highlight ✦ We are on the verge of democratizing access to educational resources, breaking down technological barriers, and enabling anyone to create valuable educational content.

In conclusion, as we venture deeper into the AI era, it’s crucial to recalibrate our perspective. AI is not a monster to be tamed or a mountain to climb but a powerful ally in our personal and professional growth journey. The real challenge won’t be learning to use AI but learning to think more critically, creatively, and strategically, leveraging AI as a tool to enhance our uniquely human capabilities.

As AI continues to evolve and become more intuitive, our focus should shift from learning its internal mechanics to understanding how it can be used to solve real problems and create value. In this way, AI becomes not just a tool but a true enabler of our development, allowing us to focus on what really matters: human growth, innovation, and progress.