The value of education may therefore lie less in the job it qualifies us to do than in the lens through which it teaches us to see and solve problems. This is why I believe curiosity may become one of the most valuable skills in the new world of work. An individual’s willingness to learn, unlearn and learn again could prove more important than having mastered one particular body of knowledge.
The worries that we concern ourselves with daily appear to be on the increase. You would think that the offer of admission to study law in a Nigerian university would be a thing of joy. But my friend worries that law and several other professions, including medicine, accounting and pharmacy, face increasing disruption from the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI). Of particular concern to her was the length of time required to study these courses and the attendant costs. She was convinced that her nephew, who was offered the admission, had been pushed towards the profession by his parents, more for their own “bragging rights” than because it was what he genuinely wanted to do. Interestingly, her nephew has loved drawing from a young age.
Her concerns got me thinking about some broader questions. How relevant is our educational curriculum in an age of rapid technological change? Are we preparing young Nigerians for the world they will actually enter? More fundamentally, are we producing too many graduates without adequately preparing them for the changing nature of work?
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For me, the real question is whether we are educating young Nigerians for specific jobs, or whether we are educating them to navigate a world in which the jobs themselves may change.
A university education should not merely be viewed as vocational training for one particular profession. Beyond the qualification it confers, education should develop transferable capabilities: reasoning, research, communication, analytical thinking, discipline and intellectual curiosity. These are capabilities that can remain relevant even when particular jobs or industries change. But this also raises an uncomfortable question: are our universities actually cultivating these capabilities, or are we still largely rewarding rote learning and examination performance?
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AI is also changing the value of knowledge itself. Access to information is becoming easier and faster. What becomes increasingly valuable is knowing what questions to ask, being able to assess the quality of an answer, applying context, exercising judgement and recognising when something does not make sense. This is particularly important because AI can be confidently wrong.
The expectation should be that a graduate is capable of reskilling and upskilling throughout his or her working life. A degree should provide a foundation from which a person can continue to learn, rather than a narrow qualification that becomes obsolete when the nature of a particular job changes.
Consider a lawyer who moves into the entertainment industry. He does not suddenly become irrelevant because he no longer goes to court. His legal training should influence how he negotiates contracts, structures transactions, understands intellectual property and manages risk. Likewise, an engineer who moves into the fitness industry may approach the human body differently because of his understanding of systems and how different components interact.
The value of education may therefore lie less in the job it qualifies us to do than in the lens through which it teaches us to see and solve problems. This is why I believe curiosity may become one of the most valuable skills in the new world of work. An individual’s willingness to learn, unlearn and learn again could prove more important than having mastered one particular body of knowledge.
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AI is also changing the value of knowledge itself. Access to information is becoming easier and faster. What becomes increasingly valuable is knowing what questions to ask, being able to assess the quality of an answer, applying context, exercising judgement and recognising when something does not make sense. This is particularly important because AI can be confidently wrong. Imagine an AI-generated legal opinion that cites a non-existent case or relies on an incorrect provision of the law. The problem is not simply that AI can make mistakes. The more important question is whether the person using it has sufficient knowledge and judgement to recognise the mistake.
The future may not belong to those with the “right” degree, but to those who are curious enough to keep learning, adaptable enough to keep changing and discerning enough to know when human judgement matters most.
AI will undoubtedly erode many routine tasks, particularly those involving repetitive processes and predictable outputs. But this does not necessarily mean that entire professions will disappear. It may simply change the composition of work within those professions. A junior lawyer may spend less time reviewing documents and conducting routine research. An accountant may spend less time on repetitive reconciliation and may rely more heavily on automated systems.
This distinction matters when we advise young people about their future. We should be careful not to respond to technological disruption by directing them towards whichever profession we currently consider “safe”. There may be no such thing as a permanently safe profession. Perhaps the better question is: what capabilities will enable this young person to remain useful and adaptable as the world changes?
This brings me back to my friend’s nephew and his love of drawing. Conceivably, the answer is not necessarily to discourage him from studying law or insisting that he pursue art instead. The future may not belong to those with the “right” degree, but to those who are curious enough to keep learning, adaptable enough to keep changing and discerning enough to know when human judgement matters most.
Temitope Sodipo is a lawyer in the financial services sector. An avid gardener, birdwatcher and arts enthusiast. She writes from Lagos.
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