Preparing Kids for a Future with AI

Scrolling through LinkedIn the other day, I came across a post about the need to rethink education in light of AI and its impact on the future of employment.

I had thought a LinkedIn post about this kind of dawning epoch of AI would be about encouraging students to upskill in coding, algorithms, or machine learning.

Instead, what it suggested was that we refocus on our human skills.

Which got me thinking…

What Machines Can Do

As a society, we’ve transitioned from labour-intensive industries, such as manufacturing and farming, to a more service-based sector that relies on white-collar skills.

But it is precisely those skills we’ve spent decades developing which will be rendered increasingly moot by the emergence of AI.

A future which no longer requires humans for vast text-based or analytical output.

Jobs that will be severely affected if not completely changed and eradicated include:

Lawyers & paralegals
Financial analysts
Radiologists & pathologists
Accountants & auditors
Insurance underwriters & claims processors
Call centre agents
HR & recruiters
Travel agents & brokers
Journalists
Graphic designers
Translators & interpreters
Clerks & legal secretaries
Government/admin processing officers
Copywriters

What Machines Can’t Do

While AI can process vast amounts of data, generate text, and even mimic creative styles, it cannot genuinely empathise, interpret silence, or tell a story rooted in lived experience.

That’s a subjective and, I would argue, artistic realm which, at least for the moment, is unattainable by AI.

This understanding provides us with an opportunity to re-engineer education with a focus on softer skills.

How to listen so you can better understand
How to see through another’s eyes
How to explain ideas clearly
How to recover from failure
How to speak confidently in public
How to think critically and creatively

These qualities will be most essential for young people in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

And do you know what shapes these qualities better than anything? Arts in Education.

Poetry, theatre, film, and literature – these are the places where students can truly hone these skills.

And more to the point, do you know who needs these qualities most of all?

Leaders.

The march of AI is unstoppable at this point, but doubling down on what makes us human – empathy, creativity, communication, collaboration – these skills will become the most essential in a changing landscape.

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Poetry in Action has always been about more than poems; it’s about self-expression, free speech and finding your voice in a crowded, noisy world.

We’re delighted to be a part of equipping the next generation to thrive in a complex, unpredictable world.

That’s the power of the Arts.

Bryce Youngman
Artistic Director & CEO