Humans must evolve and develop to keep up with AI challenge, says Estonian minister
Humanity’s new challenge is to “evolve and develop” higher cognitive skills to compete with artificial intelligence, an Estonian minister has said.
Kristina Kallas, Estonia’s Minister of Education and Research, said schools must ensure pupils have the necessary skills for jobs that do not yet exist.
In an interview with The National, Ms Kallas spoke of the need to develop critical thinking, as AI was pushing humans to evolve.
“If we want to live together with AI, we need to evolve and develop our higher cognitive skills,” she said.
“What that means is that for our children and future generations, in terms of cognitive capacities of understanding, interpreting, analysing the world, and communicating with the world, they will be at a much higher level than our grandparents had.
“AI is pushing us there and we have to evolve. This is human evolution that needs to take place with our skills and our competence levels.”
She said teachers must have autonomy in making decisions in the classroom.
Estonia made the top 10 in the global Programme for International Student Assessment rankings – an international evaluation of 15-year-old pupils’ proficiency in reading, maths and science.
It was the highest-ranking European country in maths and science in the latest Pisa rankings published last month.
“Schools need to prepare children’s cognitive skills for the jobs that don’t exist yet,” said Ms Kallas.
“School curriculums need to describe those higher cognitive skills that children need to develop – such as analytical, critical thinking, systematic thinking and communication skills, ethics, teamwork, multiculturalism and adjusting to different environments.”
The minister spoke of her hope of bringing the Estonian model of schooling to the UAE, as well as transferring the teaching principles of her country to other nations.
“We would definitely be interested in having a pilot school in the UAE to see whether this would work in a different cultural model in terms of digitisation,” she said.
The minister said she would be returning to the Emirates next month to discuss further opportunities in the country’s education sector.
Ms Kallas said the competence levels Estonia sets for children in different age categories was higher than in many other nations.
“We have this mindset in education, which is to aim high and work hard,” she said. “We also have ambitious curriculums concerning the same in maths and science.”
Ms Kallas said that since 2020, Estonian schools were able to provide lessons using only digital learning materials.
“It’s not about gadgets or giving children iPads,” she said.
“It’s about developing new learning processes with the help of technology.”
Schools need to prepare children’s cognitive skills for jobs that don’t yet exist, said Education Minister Kristina Kallas