Is education dead in the age of AI?

With AI making knowledge available at the touch of a button, what is the point of memorizing facts and figures?

Even simple, free large language models such as ChatGPT can provide a well-structured essay or the solution to a math problem in a matter of seconds. Poorly monitored students can pass or even excel at their studies without ever really needing to stretch their cognitive muscles.

At the same time, knowledge is becoming outdated more quickly. Nearly 40% of workers’ current skills are expected to be obsolete by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum, posing a curious dilemma: simple knowledge is becoming commodified, while upskilling is more important than ever.

This is a wide-ranging problem – for students, for parents, for businesses looking to hire the right talent.

At the recent Asian Investment Conference (AIC), panelists at the Nobel Perspectives Live! community event agreed that human-specific skills may become rare commodities in an AI-driven labor market.

“The world is full of opportunity for young people,” according to Nobel Prize-winning economist and MIT professor Simon Johnson, whose work tracks the impact of new technologies on the economy.

“At the same time, we have to recognize that the impact of AI is to take away a lot of established career routes, jobs and entry points. I think the right way to respond to that is to be a little shocked and disappointed, maybe for five minutes or five seconds, and then to think: what is going to be valued now?”

Johnson noted two impacts of AI on the labor market. First, many firms have paused hiring. UBS analysts note the US hiring rate has fallen below 2000s recession levels and the job opening rate is similarly low.¹

The second impact, however, is both longer term and more positive. “At the same time, AI is increasing human capabilities,” Johnson said. “Think about that from a career development point of view. Where are the spaces for innovation? Where are people creating new things? Where do they need new talent, new ideas?”

As quick facts become commodified, distinctly human qualities – cognitive flexibility, innovation, interpersonal skills – may become more valuable.

Johnson described two potential pathways in the future of work. The first he calls “general-purpose nerds”, or people who can “move across topics, not be stuck in a particular silo, bring critical thinking empowered by technology.” In essence, those with the adaptability that technology typically lacks.

“But I still think there’s plenty of space in the modern world for specialization,” Johnson added, particularly in fields that are not easily automated. “We all get paid for having some expertise that is different to and beyond the average person on the street – for the scarcity of that expertise.”

In some ways, this is not new. Education has always been more about sharpening critical thinking than memorizing figures. However, it is a significant shift from the student-led, learn-from-home culture that has dominated in recent years.

“Even pre-AI, most of what you learned at school didn’t translate perfectly into the world of work,” said entrepreneur Jamie Beaton, CEO and co-founder of Crimson Education, at AIC. “Most of education is a gym for the brain, making you learn different scenarios, think across disciplines and put thoughts together.”

This focus on human skills may also favor the educational environment beyond just textbooks – the mentors and peers met, the interpersonal skills developed. Beaton noted: “The world won’t just be you and AI agents talking to each other. Your ability to explain, empathize and persuade will all be critical.”

While human skills are set to become more valuable, the best students still have an opportunity to use AI to make themselves more effective. In a digitized economy, it will be imperative to become, in Beaton’s words, “AI-enabled”.

Encouragingly, UBS research shows that workers whose jobs are most vulnerable to AI are highly adaptable. Of the workers in the top quartile of AI exposure, 71% are well equipped to adjust their careers in response.²

“The typical high schooler today is using AI to do their homework and it is probably affecting their academics quite a bit,” said Beaton. “The top kids, though, can use AI to accelerate their math knowledge, computer science, other skills. And so, the best and brightest are able to go a lot faster.”

Perhaps the greatest concern is this current generation: students with low-barrier access to AI, in institutions that have not yet adapted in response. These students must resist the pull of the easy way and continue stretching their minds to meet the challenges – and labor market – ahead.

¹Source. UBS US Economic Data "Job openings fall, hiring still soft". 5 Feb 2026. Available for NEO-enabled UBS clients.

²Source. UBS Global Macro Chart of the Day: (#52): How adaptive are workers to AI job displacement? 31 March 2026. Available for NEO-enabled UBS clients.