Education is going through a major change as agentic AI becomes more common in schools and universities. Agentic AI refers to smart computer systems that can observe their surroundings, make decisions, and take actions without constant human help. This technology is reshaping how students learn and how teachers teach.

The most important development this week is the recognition that today's students are becoming "AI natives". Just like people who grew up with the internet became "digital natives," young students today see AI tools as normal parts of life. This is changing education in a big way. Universities are moving away from teaching students to memorize facts and instead focusing on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They want students to learn how to work well with AI tools rather than try to compete against them.

In the United States, Columbia University is addressing what experts call the AI literacy gap. This gap exists between people who can build and program AI systems and people who need to use them in their jobs. Dr. Javid Huseynov, who teaches at Columbia, says this problem is similar to what happened in the 1990s with computers. Countries that made sure everyone could use computers became successful, while others fell behind. The same thing could happen with AI skills today.

Columbia's Master of Science in Applied Analytics program is one way schools are trying to fix this problem. The program teaches students both technical skills like understanding algorithms and cloud computing, as well as important skills like leadership and ethics. The school wants students to learn how to use AI responsibly and understand how it affects society.

In Australia, the University of New South Wales has created an AI system called Scout to help students. This system uses agentic AI technology to make student life easier. While the details are limited, this shows how universities are starting to use AI agents to support their students directly.

Business research shows that most leaders are excited about agentic AI in education and other fields. 71% of business leaders believe AI agents will help their companies be more successful financially. Additionally, 88% of leaders think AI will make their work easier and help them be more productive. However, there are still concerns. 48% of people worry that AI might hurt people's ability to think critically, and 36% are concerned that it might reduce meaningful human interactions.

The technology behind these changes is getting more powerful. Recent developments include new AI systems that can handle multiple types of information at once, like text, images, and voice. These improvements make AI agents more useful in educational settings because they can communicate with students in more natural ways.

Experts in the AI field are having important discussions about what makes something an "agent". Researchers from top universities like Virginia Tech, Oregon State, and Brown University are working to understand how these new AI systems should work with humans. They emphasize that the biggest breakthrough is that AI can now communicate in natural language, making it much easier for teachers and students to use these tools.

The changes are happening quickly, and schools need to adapt fast. Universities are being encouraged to start now, experiment, learn, and build with agentic AI. Experts say this technology is not just a temporary trend but represents a major inflection point in how education works, similar to how the internet, mobile phones, and cloud computing changed everything before.

These developments suggest that the future of education will involve much more collaboration between humans and AI systems, with students learning to be partners with intelligent technology rather than being replaced by it.