Choi Jae-boong, professor of interdisciplinary AI service design at Sungkyunkwan University, said education in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) should focus on cultivating humanity, while universities should move away from simply trying to restrict students’ use of AI and instead rethink how their curricula are designed. Choi shared such visions during his keynote speech at the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Under the theme of “Beyond AI: building human-centered leadership for the next era,” he stressed that AI innovation is an inevitable future and that both leadership and education must undergo a fundamental shift to prepare for it. “Many Big Tech companies carried out layoffs over the past several years, but when I looked at their headcounts again earlier this year, they had increased because the companies were hiring more AI talent,” Choi said. “However, the focus of Korean universities last year and even this year was how to prevent students from using AI to do their assignments. Almost no
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Education experts and industry leaders called on universities to fundamentally rethink their roles in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing that higher education must shift from traditional knowledge transmission to cultivating human-centered skills such as critical thinking, ethical responsibility and problem definition. Speaking at the first panel discussion of the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference, titled “Beyond AI: Building human-centered leadership for next era,” panelists said that universities need to update their courses fast and try new things to keep up with rapid tech changes. The session, titled "The human edge of AI: Reimagining global competitiveness in Korean universities," focused on how academic institutions can build human-centered AI campuses by integrating technology into education, research and the overall student experience. Moderated by Choi Jae-boong, professor of interdisciplinary AI service design at Sungkyunkwan University, the discussion also highlighted the need to maximize human capabilities that AI cannot replace while deepening indust
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