Education and Artificial Intelligence: learning to think in the digital age.

As a teacher, consultant and trainer of generations, I ask myself: how can we incorporate AI without our students losing their capacity for reasoning, logical thinking and interest in research and reading, and how can we teach them to think in an era where machines already answer for us?

Artificial intelligence is here to stay in education. We cannot ignore it or fear it. But neither can we allow it to replace the most valuable process of teaching: the development of critical thinking, analysis, the ability to reason and make informed decisions. Our work as teachers is not limited to transmitting content, but to accompany students in the construction of criteria, autonomy and meaning.

I see with concern how many students start using AI as a shortcut, without understanding it, without questioning it. And here is the real challenge: it is not about banning AI, but teaching them how to use it well. Let them know how it works, what biases it may contain, when it is useful and when it is not. Let them learn to distinguish between an automatic response and their own reasoning.

AI can be a great ally if we know how to incorporate it with purpose. But the leading role must remain human. Our task is not to compete with algorithms, but to teach what no machine can replicate: empathy, creativity, critical reading of the world.

UNESCO says it clearly: AI should complement, not replace, the work of teachers or the cognitive development of students. That is why I insist: education should focus not on the tool, but on thinking; not on the immediate result, but on the process of learning, making mistakes, asking questions and trying again.

From Asesórate, I would like to invite my colleagues, teachers, researchers and trainers to open this debate with courage. Educating in the age of AI requires more than adapting, it requires deciding how we use it, for what purpose and in the service of what values.

 

Prof. Rita Amelii