Flexible minds, a challenge for the future of education: Yuval Harari

Author and historian Yuval Noah Harari shared his thoughts on the future of learning, including the development of flexible minds.

Harari spoke via video call with Alejandro Poiré, Vice President of Relations and Development at Tec de Monterrey, in the discussion “Let’s talk about the history of the future of learning” during the HABLA SUMMIT 2023 event.

“The one skill that people will definitely need is the ability to keep learning, changing, and reinventing themselves over and over again as times change.

“I think the two main roles of professors and educators will be to create flexible minds and train people on how to deal with the avalanche of information,” Harari said.

During this conversation, they discussed topics such as the importance of prioritizing the training of new generations and the dangers that artificial intelligence (AI) can represent.

What should we focus on when developing our minds?

Harari said that no one knows what kind of skills people will need 10 or 20 years from now, and that perhaps AI performance will be better than that of humans, so learning them would be a waste of time.

According to Harari, we should focus on developing flexible minds.

“If for every dollar we invest in developing artificial intelligence (AI), we invest another dollar and another minute in developing our minds, we’ll be fine,” Harari said.

“Because just as AI is nowhere near its full potential, neither is the human mind,” he added.

He recommended that educators not only focus on providing information but also on providing the tools to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable information, to make sense of all the data to which one is exposed.

Is AI bringing us closer to the end of human history?

According to Harari, society is at a unique point in history in having artificial intelligence, which can create new ideas and make decisions.

“AI could change us to such an extent that our descendants, whoever they are, will be completely different from us. They will no longer be human like us,” Harari said.

“Investing in people’s flexibility and mental or psychological resilience is no longer a luxury. It’s essential to survive in the 21st Century job market.” - Yuval Noah Harari

Therefore, the danger is that we will be completely dependent on technology, said the Israeli writer, referring to the need to invest in understanding, controlling, and knowing the consequences, in order to use it well.

“Otherwise, we risk becoming extinct,” he warned.

What characteristics should flexible and resilient minds have?

When Poiré asked Yuval about some of the characteristics a flexible mind should have and what advice he give to college students, Yuval said:

“The first thing I would advise a college student to do is to invest in getting to know themselves, their emotions, and their body better. You will need emotional resilience to tackle the extremely hectic change to the pace of life in the 21st Century.”

What’s more, we are approaching a stage in history when people will have to learn a new profession and start over and over again.

“Investing in people’s flexibility and mental or psychological resilience is no longer a luxury. It’s essential to survive in the 21st Century job market.”

He recommended that they prepare themselves with traditional education but also to take into account sports, therapy, meditation, and spiritual practices.

“We can’t neglect other human qualities such as sensitivity, compassion, and spirituality.”

He said that social media disconnects us from the world by only feeding our sight and hearing, so we have to experiment with the senses that we have neglected and connect with our bodies.

“Social and emotional skills are essential for the long-term future.”

During the conversation, Poiré shared the following thoughts:

“Yuval Harari invites us to see the study of history as not just looking back, but as a tool to free ourselves from the shackles of the past, to make informed decisions, and build a more conscious and hopeful future.”

About Yuval Noah Harari

Harari is an Israeli author and professor known for his work on history, technology, and human evolution. He earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Oxford and teaches at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Some of his most important books are Sapiens, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

HABLA SUMMIT 2023

HABLA SUMMIT is a platform that aims to prioritize education so that Mexican children and young people have the tools to tackle the challenges of the future. This year was its first edition.

It was held on October 19 at the BB Auditorium in Mexico City.

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