Written by Dr Stephen Harris, Chief Learning Officer, Learnlife

The world is experiencing profound upheavals. The rapid pace and intensity of these changes force us to reconsider the essence of learning and education. Navigating a world where teaching could be automated by bots, isolation is widespread, and individuals risk losing touch with their communities is daunting. It is in this environment that we must balance technology, nurture our human connections, and intentionally strengthen a sense of belonging within our communities.

Schools are poised to be the epicentre of this transformation. Human brains are naturally designed for creativity, and I love the energy that sparks from creativity and the thrill of tackling challenges. Right now, we are surrounded by unprecedented opportunities. Teachers, at last, can take on the role of human guides-by-the-side, allowing AI to create personal learning paths that bring out students' unique gifts and augment their passions. Schools must also become the playground for belonging, ensuring that in a changing society, younger generations stay rooted in culture and relationships.

Images created by Stephen Harris using Midjourney

Why the urgency? As Yong Zhao points out with incisive clarity¹, the current system is built around a deficit model that will never empower individuals to become truly great. A deficit model assumes that all students must journey through a standard curriculum, remediated if they fall behind or advanced if they excel. Zhao asserts that these systems will only ever produce mediocrity at best, as they revolve around known solutions to known problems.

The imperative to transform education is clear. We face a choice, both as individuals and as communities: Do we pretend that these changes aren’t happening, or do we embrace the creative challenge to redefine how we identify and unleash individual strengths? Learning could become genuinely personal, and as Reid Hoffman argues², we should see generative AI as the "steam engine of the mind," a tool that will profoundly reshape both our professional and personal lives.

I am energised by the possibilities and will happily provoke forward-thinking conversations on what emerging generations will need to thrive in a world of accelerating change. If we don’t embrace these challenges and opportunities, we risk failing not only the current generation but all those that follow.

Like every other community, Learnlife faces these same fundamental questions and struggles with similar complexities. The challenge is to maintain balance: becoming highly relational and deeply human while simultaneously adopting AI, adapting our practices, and ensuring everyone becomes adept in this new ecosystem born from the cognitive industrial revolution. 

Adopting AI is just the first step. We must adapt what we do and how we do it to remain relevant and forward-thinking. Ultimately, the goal is to become adept, to ensure that everyone, students and educators alike, flourish in this evolving transformed ecosystem.

Balancing Bots, Bonds and Belonging: learning in the age of AI.

Take action – starting with questions

1. How can we remain relevant in a world where AI is rapidly transforming professional and personal landscapes?
2. What risks do we face if we continue to prioritise standardised testing and one-size-fits-all education over personal, learner-driven learning?
3. Are we fostering creativity and personal growth, or are we still relying on a standardised, deficit-based model of learning?
4. How can we balance the integration of AI with maintaining human connections and a sense of belonging?
5. How do we intentionally cultivate a sense of community, alongside cultural and personal grounding in our schools?
   
   

¹ Yong Zhao, Artificial Intelligence and Education: End the Grammar of Schooling

² An interview with Reid Hoffman, Gen AI: A cognitive industrial revolution