School leads charge in equipping young minds with AI knowledge

A section of the Moi Education Centre High School (MECHS), on 20th June 2022 in Nairobi. [File, Standard]

More than 300 students last week participated in a ground-breaking career boot camp at Moi Educational Centre High School, Nairobi, aimed at demystifying artificial intelligence (AI), building soft skills, and guiding learners toward informed career choices.

Speaking during the career seminar yesterday, Moi Educational Senior School Principal Stephen Wekesa, emphasised the urgent need to expose learners to the rapidly evolving world of work.

"One of the key reasons we organised this week-long boot camp was to ensure our students understand not only what AI is but also how to harness it positively beyond just social media," he said.

"Our goal is to raise holistic students who are well-prepared to make informed decisions about their futures."

For Andrew Kipkoech, a Form 4 student, who previously knew little about specific branches of engineering, now feels equipped to pursue more defined career paths.

"Through this career week, I settled my mind on being an electrical engineer. I never knew certain branches in engineering existed, but now I do and I know exactly what grades I need to get there," Kipkoech said.

While AI anxiety remains widespread with fears of automation rendering traditional jobs obsolete, facilitators at the seminar sought to debunk myths and replace fear with empowerment.

Damita Wafula, a student with ambitions of becoming a chief finance officer, captured the shared sentiment.

"At first, we were scared that AI would take away our jobs. But we've learnt that AI is here to make work easier, not to replace us completely."

Experts at the seminar highlighted that while some routine jobs will be automated, AI will likely create more than 97 million new roles globally by 2025, according to World Economic Forum projections.

New jobs such as AI engineers, AI content creators, and AI ethics officers are rapidly gaining traction, with demand expected to outstrip supply if students are not adequately prepared.

Mesfin Teshome Abeje, lecturer at Pan African Christian University and keynote speaker at the career fair, underscored the importance of AI literacy.

"Today, it's no longer enough to ask if someone is computer literate, the real question is, are you AI literate? Knowing AI will give our students an edge to take up new opportunities," he said.