I n recent months, it has become increasingly common to hear education. The narrative is bold and provocative: if artificial intelligence (AI) can already diagnose illnesses, programme complex systems and answer academic questions in seconds, why spend years in a university classroom? Some go as far as to say that higher education is nothing more than a waste of time and money. Yet this perspective collapses under closer scrutiny, because it confuses what it means to educate people with what it means to simply perform tasks. Where higher ed adds value There is no denying that AI has brought extraordinary advances in efficiency, speed and analytical power. It can process thousands executives from major tech companies proclaiming the end of higher of medical records in minutes, generate sophisticated reports, write software and even suggest business strategies. However, higher education has never been limited to training people to complete specific operations. Educating a doctor, engineer, communicator or business manager is not only about transmitting techniques; it’s also about preparing individuals to face uncertainty, interpret contexts, analyse situations for which there are no ready-made answers, make ethical decisions and lead. Universities do not merely deliver skills; they cultivate judgment, critical thinking and discernment – qualities that no algorithm can replicate. Another crucial dimension overlooked by the “end of university” narrative is the social role of education. Higher education is not just a technical repository; it is also a space for encounter, debate, socialisation and civic formation. It is within these institutions that networks are built, identities are shaped and the capacity to co-exist in diversity is strengthened. Reducing human beings to a productive function, measured solely
TECHNOLOGY
by what can or cannot be automated, compresses their complexity into a caricature, as if life were nothing more than production and consumption. Such a vision is both limited and dangerous, because it ignores the fact that higher education fosters belonging, builds community and nurtures innovation. Universities do, of course, need to change and perhaps this is the real point. AI should not be seen as a threat to the industry but as a catalyst for necessary transformation. Higher education must rethink its pedagogical models, embrace AI’s potential to personalise learning, anticipate student needs and design more active and relevant experiences. At the same time, it must reaffirm the centrality of education’s human dimension. The future is not about choosing between universities and AI but rather building convergence between the two. Adapting to new systems For such convergence to be viable, universities must adopt a strategic stance towards AI, avoiding both sterile resistance and uncritical adoption. The first dimension of this strategy lies in recognising that education performs a structuring element of social life, as well as an economic function. If universities don’t reflect on their broader role in society and simply react in fragmented ways to technological pressures, they risk becoming irrelevant. It is, therefore, essential to be clear on the unique contribution of academic formation beyond instrumental skills: namely the preparation of citizens who can act with ethics, creativity and collective awareness. The second dimension concerns the building of collaborative ecosystems. Convergence between AI and universities cannot be achieved solely by introducing software into classrooms. Fostering partnerships around common goals with companies, governments and civil society organisations is also essential. In other words, a university or business school must position itself as a curator of meaning in an age of information overload, as a facilitator of interdisciplinary dialogues and as a privileged space for critical experimentation. This mediating role is what allows AI to become an ally in advancing social, scientific and cultural projects of real significance.
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Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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