“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems, we don’t even know are problems yet.“ Richard Riley (U.S. Secretary of Education under the Administration of President Clinton)

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) with its ability to generate synthetic data is considered a revolution in machine learning. The example of ChatGPT shows that such technology can not only automate text creation but also increase human creativity. Despite the current limitations and challenges associated with the use of such technology, the profound public curiosity led to a record-breaking one million users within only five-day after its launch. Since the release of ChatGPT to the public in November 2022, we are observing a consistent reduction in technological cycles of Generative AI.

These technologies hold an unbounded potential to foster and promote adaptive, cooperative, and immersive learning environments tailored to individual learners. Characterized by their ubiquity, adaptability to the learner, cost-effectiveness, they bear the potential to serve as tools for user empowerment in the large scale. Such advancements promise to bring us a big step closer to realizing the UNESCO Education 2030 Agenda, advocating for a human-centered approach to AI, which fostering inclusivity and equity in education. In line with the mission statement "AI for all", the aim is to ensure that this technological revolution benefits everyone, especially in the areas of innovation and knowledge dissemination and is used in a responsible way.

Fostering creativity and critical thinking

Hence, to adequately equip learners for their future professional and personal goals, it is crucial to provide them with competencies in addition to basic knowledge. These competencies should enable learners to compete in an environment where numerous tasks are automated, complex cognitive processes are required, personal responsibility and interpersonal skills are increasing, and interdisciplinary collaboration is the basis for solving complicated societal problems. The mandate for education is therefore to evolve from tasks rooted in routine and impersonality to tasks that are personalized, multifaceted, and creative. We need to develop strategies that promote multiple competencies beyond traditional curricula, with an emphasis on fostering creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication.

We are currently facing an exciting and disruptive change in education. The most important question remains: How can we democratize access to innovation and knowledge, create a more equitable and inclusive academic landscape, and meet the demands of a world in transition? What pressing challenges do we need to address towards this goal? This is where I am also interested in a perspective from the neurosciences - from my colleague Aldo Faisal: How can interdisciplinary approaches, and in particular insights from neuroscience, help to distinguish between the outputs and utterances produced by an AI and those produced by humans?