AI Requires More Knowledge, Not Less

The nineteenth edition of Weekend Media Festival is expanding further beyond the traditional boundaries of media, marketing and communications. Creative industries are increasingly intertwined with technology, finance, human resources and education, which is why this year’s programme includes eight parallel tracks. “It was difficult to believe we would be approaching the twentieth year, but there is clearly a need for this kind of gathering,” Božo Skoko, Algebra Bernays University, tells ICTbusiness Media - ICTbusiness.info. The most significant addition is Education Weekend, a separate conference programme focused on knowledge, skills and the changes shaping the future of work and education.

Skoko says education had been appearing at the edges of festival discussions for years, regardless of whether the main topic was technology, the labour market or corporate development. Eventually it became clear that it deserved its own programme. “Skills, education, universities and practice kept appearing throughout the panels, and they became so important that we realised we needed a separate conference,” he says.

A fundamental challenge is the speed at which the labour market is changing. Universities educate young people for careers that may last for decades, while some occupations can change radically or disappear in a much shorter period. “At universities we are educating young people for jobs that may not exist in ten years, while already today we have to anticipate what they will do in the future,” Skoko says. Education can therefore no longer focus only on transferring existing knowledge.

Another dimension is how technology shapes children who will later enter the workforce. Continuous exposure to screens, changing communication habits, greater individualisation and different expectations of work are part of an interconnected process. Education Weekend is intended to bring educational, psychological, technological and business perspectives together rather than discussing them in isolation.

Artificial intelligence inevitably lies at the centre of that conversation. “The impact of artificial intelligence on education is enormous,” Skoko says. AI can search, structure and compare quantities of information in moments that previously required hours or days of work. He sees major value in research, data analysis, preparation of materials, and more individualised learning.

The usefulness of the tool does not mean that the thinking process should be outsourced to it. “It is good as long as artificial intelligence is a tool that helps us with research, structuring, creation and data analysis,” Skoko says. The problem begins when users stop understanding the subject matter, checking results, and developing the ability to make independent judgements. Education therefore needs to build technological literacy and a critical attitude toward AI output at the same time.

At Algebra Bernays University, he says, AI is being integrated into courses as a tool that can help students master particular tasks. “Artificial intelligence must not become a substitute for learning, reading books and critical thinking,” he stresses. Educational institutions should not simply try to prohibit a technology students will use anyway; they need to teach students how to use it responsibly and competently.

That approach also includes strengthening skills that are not purely digital. Skoko points to the need for practical abilities, working with one’s hands, functioning in the physical world and other activities that preserve a broad range of human capabilities. “Alongside the development of artificial intelligence, we will have to encourage critical thinking and sound judgement,” he says. Such skills become more important precisely because information and ready-made answers are becoming easier to obtain.

One of the Education Weekend discussions therefore focuses on professions that AI is unlikely simply to replace. Skoko cites engineers as an example of a field where technological progress may increase rather than reduce demand for people who understand and build the systems on which AI depends. “Artificial intelligence cannot simply replace engineers because they are the driving force creating this technology,” he says.

Skoko does not reduce the relationship between education and AI to a simple choice between optimism and fear. The technology has to be understood, used, and incorporated into education, while preserving the knowledge required to assess its results. “We have to understand artificial intelligence, but also have enough knowledge and competence to make sure it remains a tool,” he concludes. The ability to combine adoption of new technology with independent thought will be central to preparing today’s students for professions that are still being created.