Stuck on AI autopilot? Education can flick the switch

Oceania risks falling behind in the AI race. Education is the key to transforming fear into future-ready confidence.

In brief:

• Australia and New Zealand lag global leaders in AI education and trust, risking missed opportunities in economic growth and job creation.
• Mandatory and universal AI training is essential to empower citizens and leaders to confidently navigate an AI-augmented future.
• Strategic partnerships and leadership accountability are critical to building a resilient, AI-ready workforce.

Without national AI education strategies, Australians and New Zealanders are just passengers in the AI revolution – stuck on autopilot while the world takes control.

While Singapore and China invest billions in training, we’re still debating whether AI is even useful. According to the EY AI Sentiment Index, around half of Australians and New Zealanders don’t want AI to take over boring, repetitive tasks. They’d rather do it themselves.

Not because they love monotony and the mundane, but because they don’t understand AI – how it works, what it can do, or how it can transform capability and careers.

Smart nations are investing in their people

Singapore is pouring AU$1.2 billion into AI education, aiming to triple its pool of AI practitioners to 15,000 over five years. China is making AI education mandatory in schools, and more than 500 universities now offer AI courses. These countries are cultivating AI-ready citizens.

Meanwhile, our knowledge of AI is behind the pack. Just 26% of Australians and 21% of people in Aotearoa New Zealand say they’ve consciously used AI for wayfinding – even though AI has powered Google Maps for over a decade.

Augmenting careers, not automating jobs

Australians and New Zealanders are more anxious about AI than most of the world. The EY AI Sentiment Index scores for Australia (54) and New Zealand (53) lag far behind India and China (88 each), for instance.

People won’t trust something they don’t understand. And they can’t use skills they’ve never been taught. That’s a big part of the reason why Australia and New Zealand are stuck in a low-trust limbo.

We need to get serious about AI education – not just for tech specialists, but for everyone.

Here’s what we need:

• Mandatory AI education: Make AI skills as fundamental as the three Rs. Integrate AI literacy into schools, TAFEs and universities.
• Universal AI upskilling: Ensure AI training is accessible to everyone from apprentices to executives. No one should be left behind.
• Leadership accountability: If you can’t explain how your company uses AI, you can’t lead it.
• Industry partnerships: Build skills passports, micro-credentials and hands-on AI training programs. Work with leaders who know what’s coming.

A new thought partner – if you know how to use it

The Tech Council of Australia estimates that AI could create 200,000 jobs and add $115 billion to the economy by 2030. But we won’t realise these benefits if our workforce is stuck in manual, repetitive tasks.

The Australian government has developed a framework for generative AI in schools; the New Zealand government has published its own guidance.

But business leaders must step up too. AI literacy was also the number one skill on LinkedIn’s Skills on the Rise list for 2025 – clear recognition that the future of work will be AI-augmented.

AI can be our smartest thought partner – helping us work faster, think bigger and create better. But people won’t get excited about the future unless we show them how. Education switches us off autopilot and helps us build confidence. Without it, we set up Australian’s to be disrupted by AI instead of inviting them the shape their AI-augmented career future.