The Teacher's Mindset: Education in the Age of AGI
In a world of super-intelligence, the most valuable skill isn't solving problems. It's defining them. We must all think like teachers.
We are facing a crisis of purpose in education. If an AI can solve the International Math Olympiad problems in seconds (which it can), why do we teach math? If an AI can write an essay on Hamlet better than a grad student, why do we teach literature?
The answer is: We are teaching the wrong things to the wrong entity.
We have been teaching humans to be computers (calculate, memorize, solve). We need to teach humans to be Teachers.
Thinking Like a Teacher
A teacher doesn’t just “solve” the problem for the student. A teacher:
- Evaluates: “Is this the right problem for this student?”
- Creates: “How do I frame this so they understand?”
- Mentors: “How do I guide them without doing it for them?”
In the AGI era, the AI is the “Student” (an incredibly smart, but naive student). The Human is the “Teacher.” We need to evaluate the AI’s output. We need to create the curriculum (the prompt/context). We need to mentor the system.
The Importance of Language and Logic
Language is the operating system of AGI. If you cannot express yourself with precision, logic, and nuance, you cannot control the machine. Reading, writing, and logical rhetoric are not “soft skills” anymore. They are “control skills.”
Empathy as a Simulation Engine
True problem-solving isn’t just math. It’s Empathy. It’s the ability to simulate the world from another person’s perspective. “How will this policy affect a single mother in Detroit?” “How will this product delight a teenager in Tokyo?”
AI can simulate data. Humans can simulate experience.
Unleashing Untapped Potential
There is a vast ocean of untapped human potential. Imagine children in high-poverty, low-tech environments who have incredible curiosity but no outlet. With AI as a tool, their lack of resources matters less. Their curiosity matters more.
If we teach them to “think like a teacher”—to ask the right questions, to demand value, to create delight—we can unlock a generation of scientists and artists who were previously silenced by circumstance.
Value creation in the future comes from Authentic Human Connection. The AI does the work. The Human creates the delight.
