by Professor John Domingue, Professor of Computer Science at The Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute, and Esther Spring, Digital & AI Confidence and Capability Lead, The Open University
AI is reshaping work, changing both everyday tasks and the skills people need to build successful careers. As the technology advances rapidly, workers will need to keep adapting how they approach their roles.
This raises important questions about how to prepare people for the future of work. Education has long extended beyond early adulthood, but the rapid adoption of AI makes continuous learning throughout a career more important than ever.
AI is changing not only what people need to learn, but also how learning is delivered. Employers and education providers can make education more accessible, personalised and responsive to adults’ changing needs throughout their working lives.
How AI is changing the skills we need
As AI spreads across industries, it is changing both how people do their jobs, and the skills they need to perform effectively.
For example, AI is increasingly handling tasks that once required human input. Workers may therefore spend less time producing work and more time directing AI tools, assessing their output and deciding how best to apply it.
Over time, workers may shift from being the “Usain Bolt” of knowledge creation, valued for completing tasks quickly, to the “F1 driver”, which directs, coordinates and validates AI tools and agents to achieve the best outcomes.
As a result, skills such as critical thinking, judgement, creativity and communication are becoming increasingly valuable. AI literacy is also important, but this goes beyond simply knowing how to use the latest tools. Workers need to understand the technology’s capabilities and limitations, recognise when outputs need to be challenged and exercise their own judgement about how it should be used.
Employers should create space for challenge and responsible experimentation, rather than treating rapid adoption as progress: adoption is not the same as capability.
However, given the speed of AI development, it is difficult to predict which technical skills will be needed in five or ten years. Therefore, rather than focusing on mastering individual technologies, people must develop the confidence and ability to continuously learn, adapt and build on their existing expertise.
As the skills needed to succeed in the workplace evolve, education must provide people with opportunities to develop throughout their careers.
How AI can transform lifelong learning
AI may be changing the skills people need at work, but it is also presenting new ways to access and engage with education.
For adults balancing work, family commitments and other responsibilities, finding the time to develop new skills can be challenging. AI can help make learning more flexible and accessible, enabling people to engage with education in ways that better suit their individual needs and circumstances.
For example, AI learning assistants could provide 24/7 guidance, connecting learning with people’s work, life and career needs. This allows people to learn at their own pace and access support when and wherever they need it.
Looking further ahead, we could see universities becoming more integrated with AI, with the technology supporting not only students, but also educators in developing and delivering content. However, AI must complement human teaching and support, not replace it.
Ensuring AI enhances learning
AI presents significant opportunities to transform education, but its adoption also brings risks that must be carefully considered.
One concern is that an overreliance on AI could undermine the skills that are becoming more valuable in the workplace. If AI users become too dependent on turning to AI for answers, they may become less confident in their own ability and less capable of thinking independently. There is also the risk of becoming too trusting in AI-generated outputs, which may not always be accurate.
Education providers must therefore ensure that AI is used to support learning, rather than replacing it. This means encouraging metacognitive skills, so that learners are aware of what they are learning and how. For example, understanding, what has been delegated to an AI and how that may affect the acquisition of skills. Additionally, curiosity of thinking, questioning AI-generated information, reflecting on their own understanding and recognising when using AI is appropriate, and when independent thinking becomes more valuable.
Maintaining human interaction is also essential. While AI can provide personalised support and guidance, it should complement rather than replace the relationships, collaboration and sense of belonging that are important to effective learning.
There are also wider questions around privacy, bias and unequal access to technology which must be addressed. Without considering these factors, AI could widen existing inequalities in education, rather than making learning more accessible to everyone
Making lifelong learning a reality
Ensuring people have the opportunities to develop their skills throughout their careers will require buy-in from employers, education providers and policymakers alike.
For employers, this means recognising that investing in AI technology alone is not enough. Many organisations are adopting AI tools at pace, without matching this with the training and support that employers need to use them effectively. Businesses must also give employees space for challenge and experimentation, rather than treating rapid adoption as progress.
Education providers also have an important role to play. At the Open University, our approach is confidence before capability, people before technology and support before assessment. This recognises that helping adults develop new skills is not simply about delivering educational courses, but also ensuring learners have the time, guidance and confidence to continue learning, regardless of their starting point.
Greater collaboration between education, industry and government will also be essential. One valuable step would be to establish a national centre for AI and learning, bringing together technical, educational and policy expertise to strengthen lifelong learning across the UK. This would ensure that good practice is shared, coherent national and regional arguments can be made to AI providers, and learning opportunities keep pace with technological developments, which reflect the needs of workers, employers, and successful economies.
As AI becomes more integrated in the way we work, the ability to learn and adapt will become even more essential. Ensuring people can keep pace with technological change requires more than simply encouraging them to develop new technical skills: it requires a fundamental shift in how education and learning are viewed.
At the same time, AI presents an opportunity to rethink when we learn, as well as how and what we learn. Learning must become a lifelong continuous process, enabling people to adapt to change and take advantage of new opportunities as they emerge.