The most destabilizing dilemma in today’s school is what is needed to study so as not to be challenged or replaced by artificial intelligence systems in the future. Because of this, in fact, so many human activities are now at risk of marginalization or replacement. For example, translation, which is now done effectively by dedicated Ai models, but also illustration, music composition, administrative activities, even managerial activities, are being challenged. Soft skills, those inherent in the individual and his or her ability to relate, remain fundamental and central to the training process. Hard skills, the technical, objective and measurable skills that enable people to perform specific tasks in a given field, on the other hand, are being challenged by the evolution of artificial intelligence, which is surpassing human capabilities in countless cognitive operations. The question then is: What skills should a student possess in history, humanities, mathematics, physics, in a world where singularity (the moment when general artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence) will place artificial intelligence at the center of cognitive and research activities? Certainly the creation of the critical spirit is a fundamental skill, an antidote in the face of the monological nature of artificial intelligence, which responds assertively and uncritically: the student must be able to judge the responses of artificial intelligence.
The ability to conduct research and at the same time recognize original sources, moreover indicated by the European AI act, is another important skill: accepting the AI answer without understanding through what sources it was developed is dangerous, not least because sources are rarely made explicit. On the one hand, the student should learn to ask for sources; on the other hand, he or she should verify artificial answers on human sources.
Plural thinking is another key competence, also to be brought into play to counter the monological tendency of artificial intelligence. With teaching methodologies that integrate AI, designed for critical and pluralistic learning, by proposing multiple alternative answers, we accustom students to plural thinking, to judging multiple points of view, and thus not to assume the monological answer as imposed truth.
It is not possible today to compose an exhaustive list of key competencies: this is an open construction site, continually measured by the evolution of artificial intelligences and requiring the thought and contribution of all educational agents in the school.
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