So, AI literacy now becomes essential:
Gen AI's ubiquity has made AI literacy a highly sought-after skill for employees at the executive level, as well as for developers, junior, and entry-level employees. That means knowing how to use these AI tools, assessing their outputs, and — perhaps most importantly — navigating their limitations has become urgent and necessary for employees. However, developing AI literacy does not mean learning to code AI or train AI models like an AI engineer; rather, it involves understanding these AI tools, how to use them, and how to use them ethically.
Furthermore, AI technology is still relatively new, and many people still have not used it at all or do not use it regularly. A recent study found that, as of August 2024, less than half of Americans aged 18 to 64 use Gen AI, and just over a quarter use it at work. AI had a faster pace of adoption than the PC and the internet when they were first introduced in the 1980s and 1990s. Most people are using AI to perform day-to-day activities, such as helping write emails, using it to look up things, and using it to obtain documentation on how to do something.
Consequently, both companies and educational institutions should collaborate to bridge the AI skills gap among future students and employees. Companies have the advantage of understanding the on-the-job AI training that workers now need, as well as for the jobs of the future, because that is where the work takes place. Educational institutions, in comparison, are still offering skill-based, rather than role-based, education that is good for getting a decent job after graduation but lacks the on-the-job AI training that workers now need, as well as for the jobs of the future. In the meantime, the business landscape is undergoing rapid changes due to the advent of AI. Thus, AI literacy has become urgent and crucial for new graduates and companies; educational institutions must determine how to incorporate AI literacy and training into their curricula and pedagogy, and disseminate it to people in real-time.
As a new PhD student and a researcher, I am facing new challenges every day and incorporating AI in my work is part of it. I have just started as a research assistant for a study on Gen AI and its use and adoption by teachers in higher education and pedagogy. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences in facing this key challenge I am facing in my research work regarding AI. I believe that integrating AI strategically can help us all work smarter, not harder.
What AI-powered tools have you been using, and how have they impacted your work? Let's discuss and please share your thoughts in the comments.
#AILiteracy #GenAI #AI #GenAIinHigherEducation #GenAIinPedagogy #artificialintelligence #innovation #technology
Skills gap in AI knowledge and use growing among students
Universities are seeing a gap among students in their knowledge and use of generative artificial intelligence, which they say risks getting wider and eventually becoming apparent in the labour market...
"Roel De Meu, policy adviser at KU Leuven in Belgium, said the university was trying to approach the issue structurally, and it was important for practice to be underpinned by some guiding principles, such as transparency and verification, respect and responsibility, and sustainability. “Importantly, a key pillar of our approach is the skills gap, and we are all faced with that, especially in these stages of AI, and this is at several levels, inter- and intra-class between different staff and between support staff, who might already be more skilled in the use of GenAI than most or some of the students. “So, it’s important to invest in AI literacy at all levels of the university, including support staff, professors and also the students,” he stated..."
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250605143020908&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SDGNL9037
Thank you for sharing your perspective — it really resonates with my own experiences. As a fellow researcher and educator, I also see the growing urgency of AI literacy not just as a technical skill, but as a fundamental part of navigating today’s academic and professional landscapes. I've been using tools like ChatGPT for brainstorming, summarizing academic literature, and even drafting research outlines. These tools have certainly improved my efficiency, but they've also raised new questions about authorship, critical evaluation, and ethical use.
I’m particularly interested in how we can better integrate AI into teaching practices in a way that promotes critical thinking rather than dependency. I’d love to hear more about the study you’re involved in — it sounds like a timely and important project.
AI literacy as the new academic literacy for students
"Universities face an urgent literacy crisis that has nothing to do with reading and writing. Today’s students arrive on campus as digital natives, yet they demonstrate profound AI illiteracy when it comes to the artificial intelligence tools increasingly central to academic work. They can format citations perfectly but cannot identify when an AI system has fabricated those very sources, highlighting a dangerous gap between technological sophistication and critical understanding. Higher education must develop AI literacy as a fundamental academic skill, comparable to information literacy or research methodology. Herein, we have identified 12 essential AI literacy skills, organised into four categories: Core Technical Competencies, AI Systems Knowledge and Tool Literacy, Academic Integrity and Ethics, and Learning and Workflow Integration. Each category and its underlying skills are presented below with practical examples demonstrating their academic applications..."
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250909104319677
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