How Critical is Critical Thinking Skill for the Future of Work: Developing Curriculum with an AI Perspective

Abstract

Critical thinking is more and more being recognized as the requirement of future job success, simply based on the exponential growth in technology and integration of AI in various sectors. This paper demonstrates the role played by critical thinking skills in the evolving workplace and goes further to recommend developing curricula that would embed the AI perspective in the development of those skills. The paper has gone through a number of scholarly sources to arrive at a definition of what critical thinking is and the importance of it, the effect of AI on the workforce, and finally, the potential benefits of integrating AI into school curricula. Based on an analysis of previous works, this paper concludes that a revision in the curriculum by the post-secondary education institutions is needed to foster relevant critical thinking as required in the new job marketplace. These findings strongly support the view that such a curriculum—putting together the pedagogy of traditional critical thinking with the content oriented towards AI—can enable persons to be better placed to cope with the vicissitudes of the contemporary workplace. This paper contributes to discourses about the role of critical thinking in the future of work and offers insights into how educators and policymakers could help people develop the capacities they need to succeed in an AI-driven economy.