Future of Education – why critical thinking matters more than ever

<p>Most educators are rushing to adapt to AI without fully grasping its implications – are we teaching students just to use technology, or to critically engage with it? In this episode of the <a href="https://datarevolution.tech/2026/04/why-critical-thinking-matters/">⁠Data Revolution Podcast⁠</a> Associate Professor  <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/ben-harris-roxas">⁠Ben Harris-Roxas⁠</a>, a health systems researcher and educator, discusses the kind of radical shift needed to keep human intelligence at the centre of education’s future.In this eye-opening episode, Ben shares how the rapid rise of AI challenges traditional teaching models and why validation and critical thinking are now higher-order skills than ever. Discover how universities are experimenting with embedding AI into coursework, moving away from banning tools to harnessing their potential for deeper learning. We’ll break down:</p><ul><li>The importance of critical appraisal in an era of AI-generated content</li><li>Why validation is a harder skill than creation and how to teach it</li><li>Practical strategies to incorporate AI use ethically and effectively in assessments</li><li>How education must evolve to preserve human creativity, messiness, and friction in learning</li><li>The implications for workforce preparedness and the future of human-AI collaboration</li></ul>