More training needed for school students on AI

School children are not being given the skills needed to succeed in a world where artificial intelligence will transform the labour force, according to research.

The research paper from ESCP Business School, The AI Republic, states that in order to prepare future generations for a world that will revolve around technologies such as AI, major steps need to be taken in order to coincide this change with the educational structure.

According to one popular estimate, 65 per cent of children entering primary school today will end up working in completely new jobs that don’t yet exist.

Terence Tse, Professor of Digital Transformation at Business School said: “Our modern-day educational system is outdated, unfitting, and no longer works – it only teaches a very rigid set of theories and skills. This is grossly inadequate for the needs of children who will be working in the age of the 4th Industrial Revolution and beyond.

“The majority of the jobs our current education system is preparing our children for will be irrelevant by the time they are adults, and most will end up in jobs that don’t even exist yet. In addition to this, they won’t have the luxury we once had of a stable career and job security.

“With their ability to adapt quickly to new technologies, coupled with the evolving job landscape, millennials and generations after will be experiencing a professional life far different than the one we did”

Professor Tse concluded: “Although we can’t be certain of what the future holds, we can be sure that the modern system of education is not laying the foundations our children need for the ever-increasing digitalized world we live in.”