By Fiona Reynolds, Chief Learning Officer, UnconstrainED
Imagine a classroom where AI doesn’t just assist with research – it leads complex investigations. Where your digital assistant doesn’t just schedule meetings – it attends them and drafts action plans. This isn’t science fiction – it’s happening now, and it’s why UnconstrainED worked with educational leaders across the AMISA region recently to tackle a crucial question: How do we prepare students for a world where their coworkers might be algorithms?
At the AMISA Leadership Elevated conference, under the theme “Lead Together, Rise Together,” we explored how education must evolve as AI becomes increasingly woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
The last UnconstrainED session was on Future Trends and AI in Education. We adopted the Institute for the Future’s idea of three horizons (1 year, 5 year, and 10 year) to look at how AI will become integrated in our societies and then asked participants to think about what might need to change in schools to ensure that our students are ready for these futures.
Meet Your New Digital Colleague
Picture this: A student asks an AI to research climate change. Instead of just generating a report, the AI:
Scours academic databases in real-time
Cross-references findings
Identifies conflicting data
Presents alternative viewpoints
Suggests areas for human insight and ethical consideration
This isn’t hypothetical – it’s already beginning. Agentic AI systems can make decisions and act independently, with limited or no human intervention. Claude, by Anthropic, recently released an agentic system that can operate with this autonomy. With permission, it can act as your assistant, managing multiple tasks simultaneously – from crafting and sending emails to handling responses and follow-ups, all while keeping you in the loop about important developments.
The Ethics Challenge
But with great power comes great responsibility. These agentic systems raise crucial questions:
Who oversees AI decisions?
How do we maintain ethical standards at scale?
What happens when AI systems interact with each other?
Today’s students will become tomorrow’s AI managers, responsible for ensuring these powerful tools operate ethically and effectively. They’ll need to master not just technical skills, but also the art of collaboration with artificial teammates and a deep sense of ethical parameters for AI systems.
Preparing Tomorrow’s AI Managers
The implications for education are profound. Schools must now consider:
What foundational knowledge will students need to lead in an AI-integrated world?
How do we teach and apply ethical decision-making in a human-AI collaborative environment?
What skills will help students effectively communicate with and manage AI systems in addition to human ones?
In our session, AMISA leaders began developing strategies to address these challenges. We’re also working with schools around the world to support teachers and students’ skill development through AI literacy courses and hands-on experience with human-AI collaboration.
Join the Conversation
The future isn’t coming – it’s here. While AMISA leaders are charting their course through this AI revolution, we want to hear from you:
What AI initiatives is your school exploring?
How are you preparing students for an AI-integrated workplace?
What challenges are you facing in implementing AI education?
Share your experiences in the comments below, and let’s work together to prepare our students for a future where success means knowing how to lead not just people, but algorithms too.
About the Author:
Fiona Reynolds is an accomplished and forward-thinking educational leader with over 30 years of experience in international schools across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Previously serving as the deputy head of school at the American School in Bombay, Fiona has established herself as a professional learning leader. She is a member of multiple academic boards, as well as advisory and steering committees working to bring evidence based practices to all schools and students. Fiona has presented at a variety of conferences on topics such as fostering trusting school cultures, facilitating organizational change, and creating schools that are responsive to developmental needs. She is the Chief Learning Officer and one of the co-founders of UnconstrainED. UnconstrainED’s mission is igniting the transformation of education towards a human centered design through innovative technological solutions.