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The current debate about artificial intelligence has an interesting side effect: it ruthlessly reveals the shortcomings of our education system. The widespread fear of AI systems such as ChatGPT is often not based on their actual capabilities, but on the sobering realisation of how interchangeable many of our learned skills are. For decades, our education system has trained people to solve predetermined tasks according to set patterns. We have learnt facts by heart, passed standardised tests and adhered to predefined processes. Today, AI can do precisely this type of work better, faster and with fewer errors. The panic this triggers is basically an admission: we have been trained to become ‘human machines’ instead of developing our unique human abilities. The traditional education system, developed in the age of industrialisation, aimed to create a reliable workforce for standardised processes. Creativity, critical thinking and independent action were often undesirable. Pupils and students were not encouraged to ask questions or find alternative solutions. Instead, conformity was rewarded and deviation penalised. AI now acts as a merciless mirror of this misguided development. It shows us that much of what we call ‘education’ was merely the training of routines. When an AI model can write a structured essay, solve a maths problem or produce a market analysis within seconds, it becomes clear that these skills alone no longer make us valuable for the labour market. Paradoxically, this painful realisation could be the starting point for a long overdue education revolution. We need to abandon the illusion that memorising facts or following predetermined processes is enough. Instead, we need to focus on developing genuinely human skills: - The ability to ask new questions instead of just giving known answers - The ability to develop creative solutions to novel problems - The ability to make ethical decisions and weigh up values - The ability to genuinely empathise and build meaningful relationships - The ability to understand complex relationships and think systemically The ‘natural stupidity’ that AI exposes is not that of individual people, but that of a system that has reduced people to one-dimensional task fulfilers. The true intelligence of humans is not revealed in the competition with machines, but in the ability to use machines sensibly in order to develop human potential. The fear of AI is therefore also an opportunity for self-reflection: What makes us truly human? What skills should we develop? How can we design an education system that supports people in realising their full potential instead of degrading them to programmable units? The answer may lie in a fundamental rethink: away from teaching standardised skills and towards developing adaptive competencies. Away from the passive consumption of knowledge and towards the active creation of solutions. Away from fear of machines and towards self-confident use of technological tools. AI could thus become the catalyst for a long overdue educational reform - not because it threatens us, but because it forces us to reflect on our true strengths and develop them in a targeted manner. The real revolution lies not in technology, but in a return to what makes us human.