Rethinking Education in the Age of AI

Reflections on leadership, learning, and what comes next

I recently attended a conference hosted by Fred Voccola, former CEO of Kaseya, that offered something increasingly rare in conversations about artificial intelligence: clarity without panic and optimism without naivety. Moderated by Sepi Tofig, Chief Legal Officer at Kaseya, the panel brought together leaders across higher education, healthcare, and investment to explore how AI is reshaping education and what institutions must do to prepare the workforce of the future.

What stood out was not the breadth of expertise on the stage, but the alignment across perspectives. There was shared recognition that AI is no longer a future disruption. It is already influencing how we learn, how we work, and how we define readiness. The question is not whether institutions will adapt, but whether they will do so intentionally.

Jeanette Nuñez, President of Florida International University, spoke directly to the generational shift underway. “This generation is going to be the first generation of AI natives,” she said. “The most important thing for us is to embed it in the curriculum and embrace it, not just for computer science majors, but across every discipline.”

Her point reflects a deeper truth. Access to information is no longer the differentiator it once was. AI has democratized knowledge. The role of education now is to help students develop judgment, context, and ethical reasoning. President Nuñez also acknowledged growing skepticism among students and families. “Fewer and fewer people see the value of a college degree,” she noted, framing this moment as an opportunity to rethink how education delivers value to society.

Madeline Pumariega, President of Miami Dade College, reinforced this perspective with historical context. “AI is democratized information. We are in a knowledge economy,” she said. Rather than replacing human capital, AI amplifies it. “AI is not replacing humans. What it may replace are humans who are not using AI in tasks that do not have the highest return on investment.”

Her emphasis on affordability, stackable credentials, and workforce alignment reflects a broader shift toward education as a lifelong pathway rather than a single milestone. Degrees are not disappearing. They are being rebuilt to reflect the realities of a faster and more dynamic economy.

Experiential learning emerged as a consistent theme. Joe Giglio, Executive Professor at Northeastern University, described how deeply integrating work experience has transformed outcomes for students. “We integrated work and learning a long time ago,” he said. “Nearly sixty percent of our seniors have job offers from their co-op employers.”

This approach reshapes how learning happens. “Students return from work influencing curriculum, advising, and how we teach,” Professor Giglio explained. Education becomes iterative and grounded in reality. Experiential learning is no longer a differentiator. It is quickly becoming the baseline expectation for workforce readiness.

From the investor perspective, Alex Slusky, Founding Partner at Vector Capital, offered a lens that resonated across the room. “AI does not change what is intelligent,” he said. “It changes who is useful.” Credentials alone are becoming weaker signals. What matters more is how someone thinks, adapts, and communicates in environments where AI is embedded into daily work.

Slusky emphasized the importance of faster feedback loops and real world assessment. “Employers deploy people through many small, fast projects, not one assignment that takes an entire semester,” he noted. This is why presentations, oral defenses, and live problem solving are resurfacing as meaningful ways to assess human capability in an AI enabled world.

The conversation also challenged the assumption that AI dehumanizes work. In healthcare, David Reese, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer at Amgen, shared how AI is restoring human connection. “We have over two hundred and fifty AI projects completed or in flight,” he said, pointing to the value of rapid data synthesis. More importantly, “AI can help humanize care by restoring the physician patient interaction and removing the administrative barrier.”

Dr. Reese also offered perspective on workforce concerns. “Every major tech shift was supposed to be a job destroyer,” he said. “And IT became a job creator.” The greater risk, he suggested, lies not in automation but in failing to evolve.

That sentiment was echoed by Bogdan Daraban of Barry University. “Higher education has to shift from being a purveyor of content to providing student experiences that set them on a lifelong learning path,” he said. By embedding AI into client facing projects and real workplace simulations, students learn not only to produce work, but to defend it, refine it, and adapt it over time.

For leaders, the implications are clear. AI literacy is no longer optional. Treating AI as a siloed function rather than a core capability will leave organizations underprepared. Credentials are becoming less predictive than the ability to reason, communicate, and apply judgment. Experiential learning mirrors how high performing organizations already operate, with rapid feedback and accountability.

Most importantly, human skills are appreciating rather than depreciating. Critical thinking, ethical judgment, emotional intelligence, and communication remain the enduring differentiators in an AI enabled economy.

I left this conversation not with urgency rooted in fear, but with optimism grounded in possibility. The future of education and work will not be defined by who adopts AI the fastest, but by who integrates it with clarity, integrity, and purpose. If institutions and leaders are willing to evolve thoughtfully, this moment has the potential to make learning more relevant, work more human, and progress more inclusive than ever before.