Keeping education human in an AI-driven world

Students arrive for their first university lecture, excited to begin their learning journey, but instead of finding other students, they’re greeted by an AI ‘teacher’ offering a hyper-personalized curriculum perfectly tailored to each of their individual needs. It’s certainly efficient and scalable, but also rather isolating. 

While this scene isn’t yet reality, AI is already transforming education. At Esade’s recent ‘AI for Teaching Day’, business leaders, faculty, and students discussed the effects of AI on business education. The event, organized by the Esade Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CTL), featured several panels and interactive sessions in which faculty members could reflect on how AI can enhance learning, the skills students need to acquire, and how to adapt their teaching accordingly. 

Professor Christopher L. Tucci, Chair in Digital Strategy and Innovation at Imperial College Business School, delivered the event’s keynote address. He posed a key question: What happens to education when AI delivers the knowledge, but not the human connection? 

Technology must serve pedagogy, not dictate it

As with every major tech progression, the debate now is how AI will disrupt education—and what that means for teachers, students, and the universities themselves. 

Disruption is not new to business

It’s easy to feel cautious when we talk about “disruptive technology” but disruption doesn’t always spell the end for existing businesses. When the world discarded CDs and digitized music, it didn’t put an end to music companies. MP3 players and digital music platforms may have heralded the end of high-street music vendors, but the music business model as a whole adapted to the change.  

The same happened when smartphones made standalone GPS devices obsolete. Companies like Garmin could have been finished, but instead, they pivoted to offer fitness wearables and specialist GPS technology for outdoor enthusiasts. 

“Technologies don’t always wipe out industries,” Tucci noted. “But if you’re in the middle of it and not paying attention, you might disappear.” 

AI’s impact on business, and what it means for education

Although universities aren’t traditional businesses, they are service providers. Lessons from industry are relevant: universities must adapt. Firstly, AI can reduce the administrative burden on teaching professionals, from assisting with automated curriculum design to creating personalized learning roadmaps for individual students. Secondly, educators need to prepare students to join the job market at a higher level, as AI is now more often handling the tasks of entry-level roles. 

Professors won’t be replaced, but they will focus more on developing students’ uniquely human traits

During the event, a session led by economics professor Martí Guasch focused on the potential of AI tutors for teaching. In a pilot project at Esade, he introduced custom GPT tutors in one of his undergraduate courses. The data gathered at the end of the course revealed useful insights for other professors aiming to implement GPT tutors in the classroom. This tool can be helpful for breaking down complex finance topics, supporting personalized practice, and saving study time. However, there may be issues with accuracy, reliance on strong prompting, and the need for supplemental sources. 

“AI will help with student support and assessments,” Tucci notes. “But it also raises big questions about what professors will do in the future.” The likelihood is that faculty will need to focus more on designing assignments and choosing dynamics to maximize learning and reflection, as well as on developing students’ uniquely human traits.  

The paradox of student success

Today’s students have an infinite amount of information at their fingertips, powerful tools to summarize texts, draft essays, and they can even use AI to vet and proofread their work and provide feedback. But with so much assistance—and, more importantly, if they don’t apply a critical thinking approach to what AI provides— will they actually learn anything? 

Tucci asks: “What if students become so reliant on AI tools that they stop learning how to think?” The concern is that students may lose their ability to learn, analyze and adapt.  

“I am really scared about losing the ability to think critically and for yourself,” mentioned Timo Sachs, a student at the Master in Business Analytics, during a panel on skills and strategies for the future of management. “I see in many of my colleagues that going to ChatGPT to answer a question is the first instance.” 

Esade Professor Laura Guillén also showed concern about the risk of business students deskilling if they rely too heavily on AI technologies. That’s why universities shouldn’t stop at designing powerful learning experiences for students to acquire conceptual and procedural knowledge. They should emphasize building human skills: critical thinking, creativity, ethical judgment, and resilience—the pillars of a meaningful education that goes beyond academic theory. On top of that, university must accompany them in the search for their own life purpose. 

Another interactive session led by David Murillo, Professor of Sociology, focused on AI as a tool for critical thinking in management education. Drawing on different use cases at Esade, the participants learned about the cognitive impact of GenAI and explored the paradoxes in AI’s influence on intellectual skills. This sparked discussion on responsible, ethics-driven pedagogical strategies that foster the intellectual autonomy of students.  

Could AI replace the university itself?

If a student can benefit from tailored learning, personalized feedback, and continuous assessment, do they still need a physical university? 

While traditional institutions still hold reputational power, Tucci warned they could be “disintermediated”—bypassed—by online platforms offering stackable credentials. 

Universities must find a balance that combines a traditional university experience with the latest that technology has to offer

Imagine future learners assembling degrees from multiple providers, without enrolling in a single institution. AI can’t replicate student camaraderie, the passionate seminar debates, or the personal growth that comes with shared experiences. This is the other side of a university education—and it’s a lot more appealing than sitting alone in a home office, conversing only with your AI instructor.  

Universities must fine-tune a balanced offering that combines the best of the university experience with the latest that technology has to offer. If universities ignore AI’s potential—or fail to integrate it meaningfully—they risk becoming obsolete. 

In this spirit, marketing professors Carles Torrecilla and Mauro Ribó conducted a session on how to use AI-powered tools to enrich course materials and boost student engagement. They showcased practical examples of how these tools can support more dynamic, accessible, and personalized learning experiences. 

Being at the forefront of technological development matters to a university, but it’s not enough. The institutions that succeed will combine academic rigour with adaptable, tech-enhanced learning models that prioritize human connection and development. 

CTL: Enabling AI experimentation, sharing, and learning

So, what does the AI-powered university of the future look like? It’s probably too soon to know, but educational institutions are already planning their strategies. At Esade, the CTL focuses on providing a supportive environment for experimentation. A main part of its efforts aims at enabling pioneer professors to develop and implement their AI projects. 

“We try to create a context where faculty can experiment on their own,” explains Esade Professor Valentina De Marchi, Director of the CTL. “Every discipline needs to use AI in a different way, so there is a need for tailored approaches.” But trying new things requires a lot of work, and the day-to-day life of a professor is already packed with teaching, research, and administrative obligations. That’s why Esade formally recognizes AI-related experimentation as part of faculty service contributions. It is considered part of their role, so their working hours on AI initiatives are valued even if some trials don’t produce instant outcomes. 

Another central point of Esade’s strategy is knowledge sharing. As in the ‘AI for Teaching Day’, the CTL provides training at multiple levels, from introductory workshops to advanced sessions providing faculty with insights to use AI strategically to prepare their teaching and to maximize students’ learning. In addition, every month a faculty community meets to exchange insights, discuss the challenges they’re facing, and learn from each other’s experiences.  

The business school fosters collaboration among educators so that AI adoption becomes a shared transformation rather than a solitary task. "No one alone can do it. But a community can," says De Marchi. 

Teaching in the future

At the end of his keynote, Tucci emphasized that technology must serve pedagogy, not dictate it. “The universities that thrive,” he concluded, “will be those that double down on what machines can’t offer: mentorship, community, and a shared commitment to growth.” 

AI is already reshaping education, but that doesn’t have to be a threat. For academic institutions open to change, it’s an opportunity to reimagine how they teach and what they prioritize. Universities will remain relevant not by competing with technology, but by elevating what makes human learning irreplaceable. Esade is embracing this philosophy by piloting bold, innovative learning models and understanding what makes human education meaningful.  

The tools may evolve, but the heart of education is — and must remain — human. The student of the future may follow a personalized, AI-supported path, but they won’t be walking it alone.