Experts at WSIS Forum 2026 call for rethinking education in the AI era

AI is forcing educators to rethink not only how students learn but also what skills matter most in the digital age, speakers concluded during a WSIS Forum 2026 session on the future of education. Participants from academia, international organisations, aviation, and student communities agreed that while AI can enhance learning, it cannot replace the human qualities that underpin creativity, critical thinking, and meaningful knowledge creation.

Moderated by Hao Liu, the discussion explored how education systems should evolve as AI becomes increasingly integrated into classrooms and workplaces, drawing on both European and Chinese perspectives on learning.

Storytelling and apprenticeship remain at the heart of learning

Opening the discussion, Jovan Kurbalija, Executive Director of Diplo, argued that human learning has historically relied on two fundamental methods, which are apprenticeship, learning by observing others, and storytelling, through which people construct and communicate knowledge.

While AI has the potential to strengthen apprenticeship by supporting practical learning, he warned that it increasingly threatens storytelling. With tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek capable of producing polished essays in minutes, students may bypass the intellectual process of organising ideas, building arguments, and developing their own voice.

‘The question is not whether AI can write an essay,’ Kurbalija suggested. ‘The question is whether we still value the human process of creating one.’

Responding from a Chinese perspective, Hao Liu noted that storytelling has long played a central role in Chinese history as well, helping leaders inspire people and build shared visions. That motivational power, he argued, cannot simply be generated by AI.

Universities should focus on asking better questions

Hong Guan, from the School of Global Governance at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), presented a framework of five ‘meta-capabilities’ that universities should prioritise in the AI era: learning agility, execution capability, communication skills, leadership potential, and critical judgement.

Rather than competing with AI in delivering information, universities should concentrate on helping students evaluate information, solve complex problems, and make sound decisions.

‘AI shouldn’t replace education,’ she said. ‘AI should push us to make education better.’

Guan also described how BIT increasingly relies on oral examinations and project-based learning rather than traditional written exams, making it much harder for students to rely exclusively on AI-generated answers.

Students warn of growing dependence on AI

Some of the session’s strongest interventions came from students themselves.

A Stanford University student described classmates uploading entire textbooks into AI systems shortly before exams, achieving excellent grades while retaining little of what they had supposedly learned.

‘What’s the point of being in school if you’re just going to do this?’ she asked.

More fundamentally, she questioned how future scientific discoveries would emerge if students increasingly relied on AI-generated summaries instead of developing original understanding.

Another student highlighted a different concern, that AI often provides answers that appear convincing even when users lack sufficient background knowledge to evaluate them critically. Instead of accepting AI outputs at face value, students should first clarify what they do not understand and develop questions before turning to AI for assistance.

Several speakers agreed that prompting AI effectively has itself become an important communication skill, but stressed that good prompts cannot substitute for genuine understanding.

Critical thinking becomes more valuable as information becomes cheaper

Drawing on her experience leading digital innovation initiatives at UNIDO, Ana Paula argued that AI is changing the value of human skills rather than eliminating them.

As information becomes abundant and inexpensive through AI, the ability to evaluate competing sources, exercise judgement, and adapt continuously becomes increasingly valuable.

‘Critical thinking is coming at a premium because information is now cheap,’ she observed.

She also challenged the widespread assumption that adaptability is an innate personal characteristic, arguing instead that it can be deliberately developed through continuous learning.

From the aviation sector, former ICAO officials Catalin Radu and Nabil Naoumi echoed the importance of embracing AI while maintaining human oversight. Both described AI as an indispensable professional tool capable of improving productivity, drafting documents, and supporting complex operational decisions, but insisted that human vision, responsibility, and face-to-face collaboration remain irreplaceable.

Humanity’s strengths cannot be automated

Closing the discussion, speakers shifted from practical education reform towards broader philosophical questions about humanity’s role in an AI-driven world.

Maricela Muñoz argued that curiosity, compassion, creativity, and ingenuity remain uniquely human qualities that should anchor education and professional development. Technology, she said, should free people from routine work rather than diminish opportunities for reflection and innovation.

Kurbalija concluded by describing AI as ‘a mirror’ that reveals what makes people uniquely human. Drawing on philosophical and religious traditions from around the world, he argued that education should not aim to optimise students into machine-like efficiency but instead preserve the human capacity for imperfection, reflection, and independent thought.

Across the discussion, speakers reached broad agreement that AI will continue transforming education, but its success will ultimately depend on whether schools and universities place greater emphasis on critical thinking, storytelling, adaptability, and lifelong learning, skills that remain fundamentally human despite rapid advances in AI.

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