The education sector is extremely conservative. The story goes that if someone were to wake up today after 100 years of deep sleep and return to society, they would find most things strange—except for school, which has changed very little.

It so happens that, from time to time, we see innovations with the power to disrupt our schools, which have recently been shaken up by the pandemic. Since the end of last year, we have been facing a new source of chaos: ChatGPT.

The pandemic has shown us that our children need to be—and should be—more independent, that learning depends more on the student’s active participation than on the teacher’s, and that the focus of the classroom has shifted from the teacher to the student.

This is because we live in an age of abundant information. The role of the teacher needs to be reevaluated, as teachers are no longer the primary source of knowledge but have become curators who filter information and help transform it into knowledge. No matter how much technology we have, we can never do without a good teacher. Media literacy—a prime example of the teacher’s new role—teaches us to understand what fake news is and to help students develop critical thinking skills.

Alongside this abundance of information, we’re experiencing a technological revolution, which we need to use as a means to teach more effectively. It’s incredible, but not long ago, schools prohibited students from bringing cell phones into the classroom. This digital transformation, combined with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, has given us ChatGPT.

Until then, it was unthinkable to ask a computer to write an essay—a unique and creative piece of writing. Well, ChatGPT not only writes essays, but also composes music, solves complex math problems, and creates delicious recipes, among other skills.

We’re no longer talking about repetitive tasks like welding a car—which robots now perform—or a game of chess, at which machines have also surpassed humans. We’re talking about activities that require thinking, reflecting, and gathering information—actions that machines—let’s call them robots—didn’t know how to do. I said: didn’t know how to do!

Can you imagine what impact this transformation will have on schools and universities?

In my blissful ignorance, I chose not to ask ChatGPT this question!

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