Choose the educations AI can't take away from you!

On April 15, the deadline for applying for higher education expires. This year, the election is more precarious than usual. The world is marked by war, unrest and a technological development that challenges the idea of what it means to be human in work.

Many young people -- and parents -- are asking: Is there any point in studying, when machines do tasks better than us already? What should be done when both needs and jobs are changing so quickly?

Language models like ChatGPT have in a few years gone from being useless to being able to solve school assignments, code programs, and write analyses better than most students and students.

Today, technology is free and accessible to everyone, and it creates both motivation and frustration.

When the tool in your pocket can do the job better than you, it's no wonder that exams and school assignments feel pointless.

And we're just at the start.

It is difficult to predict what such tools will be able to do in three or five years — when today's applicants are going to work.

Is there any point in studying computer science, if language models already encode better than most? Or political science, whose algorithms can parse text and politics more deeply than master's students?

We think the answer is yes -- but that requires us to rethink education. Here are seven pieces of advice for young people and parents in the age of KI:

1. Learn what you want -- as long as there's data.
Digital technologies characterize almost every profession. It's not necessary to become a programmer, but you should understand how data and technology work.

Regardless of the field of study, technological insight is useful — both for participating in, influencing and understanding developments.

Feel free to choose art or language — but take a look at the websites and connect with current students: does education have a conscious relationship with new technologies?

2. Think rugged -- not futuristic.
A lot of people dropped their driver's licenses a decade ago because they thought self-driving cars would take over. They're still in the passenger seat.

Don't put all the emphasis on future scenarios where the machines do everything. Choose education that gives you more opportunities, and think that the future is likely to be a mix of human and technological work.

3. Try -- and switch if you have to.
You don't have to be sure before you start. Start an education, test different subjects, and find out what energizes you. Many people don't find the passion until they try.

And there is no shame in changing direction. On the contrary: experimenting is often the wisest choice.

Although universities look like silos from the outside with clear courses of study, it is remarkable how much freedom and flexibility there is on the inside.

4. Find the human advantage.
Many jobs will disappear -- but there will also be many new ones: AI developers, computer strategists, prompt designers and synthetic media producers, to name a few.

At the same time, skills such as judgment, cooperation, critical and ethical thinking and curiosity are becoming more important than ever. There is man yet best.w

5. Don't let the machines take over the thinking.
KI can give good answers -- but not necessarily the right understanding. Use technology as a support, but not as a replacement.

Whoever uses artificial intelligence without his own reflection does not learn. Build your own thinking power and judgment -- that's what adds lasting value.

6. Believe in your own learning ability.
We know that the belief that one can evolve is essential for mastery. Many young people, especially girls, say early on that “I'm not a tech person.”

It only becomes true when you stop trying. Learn to withstand resistance, use the tools, and find joy in learning—even the technical.

7. The joy of learning beats everything.
If machines take over a lot of jobs, there's one thing they can't take away from us: the joy of learning.

Being curious, learning new things, combining knowledge and thinking creatively — it will always be a superpower. The winners of the future are not necessarily those with the most knowledge, but those who learn fastest and adapt best.

A word of advice to young people and parents:
We have no guarantee of what is the “right” education ten years from now. But we know that technology and human skills need to be combined.

Therefore: Feel free to choose what you like, but learn how technology works. Use machines as tools, not targets.

And most importantly, don't think that you're going to become one thing, but many. The future belongs to the learners.