What schools must protect in the age of AI

What should we protect in education, as AI transforms how we learn, think, and work?

In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Nick Krichevsky, a high school teacher and Head of Digitalization at the German International School Johannesburg in South Africa.

With over 15 years of teaching experience across Germany and South Africa, Nick brings a grounded, classroom-based perspective to one of the most pressing questions of our time:

What should education hold onto, and what should it let go of, in the age of AI?

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why AI should serve a clear educational purpose, not drive it

• The limits of a one-size-fits-all education system across different contexts

• What Nick calls the “promise — and misspoken promise — of education”

• Why many students still lack practical skills and opportunities, despite access to schooling

• The importance of effort, friction, and cognitive rigor in real learning

• How AI can support education by freeing up time and resources, not replacing thinking

• Why students must develop ownership of their learning process

• The growing concern among students about AI, self-efficacy, and their future

Nick also shares a powerful vision for the school of the future:

Not one centered on technology, but one built around human relationships, social learning, mentorship, and responsibility.