Artificial intelligence is shaking the intellectual, emotional, and economic foundations of the world. A glance at mainstream or social media confirms that the world ahead will look nothing like the one were leaving behind.
Technological disruption is nothing new. From bronze smelting in Benin and steel forging in Japan to Themistocless naval buildup in ancient Greece, history shows that transformative technologies spark societal shifts and national urgency.
Todays urgency is AI. The White Houses recent executive order (EO) on AI education echoes past anxietiesthis time, about Chinas rapid advancement.
You may have missed this EO amid the recent flood of them. But it’s a pivotal moment. Though well-intentioned, the EO lacks the depth needed for a truly informed AI educational policy.
The EO defines its mission as providing opportunities to cultivate the skills and understanding necessary to use and create the next generation of AI technology. It outlines three imperatives:
Expose our students to AI at an early age.
Train teachers to effectively incorporate AI into their teaching methods.
Promote AI literacy to develop an AI-ready workforce.
These steps are necessary. AI is a profound shift, one that exposes long-standing deficiencies in our educational systemparticularly our neglect of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Still, the EO falls short in three key areas. Speaking as president and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry, a board member of the National Academies, and a lifelong STEM advocate, I say this: You cannot teach AI without also teaching critical thinking, ethics, and wisdom.
Our national conversation must expand beyond technical training. As AI (and eventually artificial general intelligence) integrates into every part of life, we face a stark choice: Do we become passive consumers of knowledge, or do we intentionally cultivate wisdom?
Technical proficiency alone turns us into carbon versions of AI. Instead, we need a cultural shiftone that champions critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and curiosity in classrooms, workplaces, and homes.
The goal isnt just to understand AI, but to navigate the world it creates. Techno-optimism must be balanced with rigorous intellectual and moral interrogationor the doomers may be right.
Though the EO doesnt address the human-AI relationship, Ill give it the benefit of the doubtits not a full policy, but a starting point. I hope future policy goes further, confronting AIs risks and outlining how education and society should respondboth philosophically and practically.
For what it’s worth, my ideal AI curriculum would include more than practical skills. It would explore:
Martin Heideggers insights on how technology shapes experience
Nick Bostroms paper clip thought experiment
Shoshana Zuboffs critique of surveillance capitalism
Soon, AI wont need to be taughtit will be omnipresent. In the 1990s, we trained students to use a mouse and browse the web. But intuitive design soon made that obsolete. The same is happening with AIonly faster.
Rather than focus on todays tools, AI education should teach how to understand technologys evolution.
Computer scientist Alan Kay once said, Technology is anything that was invented after you were born. Maintaining global leadership requires more than technical prowessit demands cultural vision.
After Sputnik, America feared falling behind in the space race. In the 1990s, it was Japan. Now, it’s China. But the true question is: Which nation will use AI to become the better society?
French philosopher and diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville once said, America is great because it is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. That quote echoes as I reflect on the EO and our future.
To lead in AI, we must prioritize wisdom over raw intelligence. That greatness wont come from executive ordersbut from the strength of our social order.
