Training the Next Generation: AI in Colleges and Universities

If you have a kid in college or university, you’re asking the question: should we teach them AI? The answer is yes. Not as a bonus course for nerds, but as a basic skill, like knowing how to use Excel or Word.

AI isn’t futurism, it’s the present

Imagine you need to prepare a student for a job they’ll have in 2028. The chances that job involves working with AI? Extremely high. Even if it’s just to verify that AI’s output makes sense. Even an archivist, a nurse, an electrician will cross paths with AI at some point.

The problem? Colleges and universities are dragging their feet. Meanwhile, other countries are training their young people to use these tools critically and creatively.

What we should teach (spoiler: not just coding)

You don’t need everyone to become a machine learning expert. You need everyone to understand: what can AI do and not do? What are the traps? How do you ask a good question to an AI tool? How do you spot an answer that looks right but isn’t?

It’s like learning to read and write. You need to know how the tool works so it isn’t imposed on you.

For a graphic design student? Yes, learn to make images with AI. Then learn to modify them, critique them, understand the aesthetics coming out of the machine. For a law student? Learn how AI can do legal research faster, but understand its limits. For a health student? Discover how AI helps with diagnosis, but doesn’t replace human judgment.

It’s not just a course: it’s a pedagogical revolution

The real change is that AI will transform how we teach. A literature professor can use AI to generate historical context. A science professor can have students run AI-simulated experiments before the real ones. It frees up time for discussions, creativity, critical thinking.

But we need to train the teachers too. Otherwise, you get educators who are scared and ban ChatGPT, rather than teaching their students to use it wisely.

In Quebec, we have an opportunity: we can learn from others’ mistakes. We can build a Quebec approach — humanistic, critical. Not just copy what Americans do. Laeka Research works on exactly these questions: how do we train people, from high school to SMBs, for inclusive AI rooted in our realities? To explore this more, check out Sherpa, our educational platform.