一个世纪前，当大学想要将学生塑造为高度“具备文学素养”的毕业生时，会让他们接触最伟大的文学作品，布置分析性论文，并开展课堂辩论。
A century ago, when universities wanted to mold students into highly "literate" graduates, they exposed them to the greatest works of literature, assigned analytical essays, and held classroom debates.
几十年前，随着互联网时代的到来，高校认识到需要更新课程和教学方法——以确保学生不仅精通宏篇巨著，而且掌握在21世纪职场中取得成功的数字素养技能。
As the internet age dawned a few decades ago, colleges recognized the need to update their curricula and teaching methods — to ensure that students didn't merely master the great books, but also acquired the digital literacy skills to succeed in the 21st-century workforce.
如今，另一场震荡性的变革正在进行中。人工智能正在重塑人们在生命各个阶段学习和工作的方式。这一次，大学不仅必须更新教学内容和方法，还必须更新教学的时长。在一个AI的发展速度超过任何四年制学位所能跟上步伐的世界里，大学拥有独特的机遇和责任来重新设计其课程和项目，以确保其学生——过去、现在和未来的学生——具备AI素养。
Now, another seismic shift is underway. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how people learn and work at every stage of life. This time, universities will not only have to update what and how they teach, but also how long they teach it. In a world where AI evolves faster than any four-year degree can keep pace, universities have a unique opportunity and a responsibility to redesign their offerings and programs to ensure their students — past, present, and future — are AI literate.
美国人采用AI的速度比历史上任何其他技术都要快。根据皮尤研究中心的数据，大约一半的美国成年人现在日常生活中使用AI，高于2024年的三分之一。各个年龄段的人都在转向这些工具，从财务建议、行程规划到医疗健康信息，无所不包。但仅仅使用AI和有效使用AI之间存在着巨大的差异。
Americans are adopting AI faster than any other technology in history. According to Pew Research Center, roughly half of U.S. adults now use AI in their everyday lives, up from one-third in 2024. People of all ages are turning to these tools for everything from financial advice to travel planning and healthcare information. But there is a big difference between simply using AI and using it effectively.
哈佛商学院和波士顿咨询集团的研究人员进行的一项具有里程碑意义的实验阐明了这种区别。研究发现，使用领先AI模型的顾问制作出了更高质量的工作并更快地完成了任务——但前提是他们认识到了该技术的优势和局限性。当他们依赖AI来处理在其能力范围之外的任务时，他们的表现实际上比完全不被允许使用AI的对照组顾问还要糟糕。
A landmark experiment by researchers at Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group illustrates this distinction. The study found that consultants using leading AI models produced higher-quality work and completed tasks faster — but only when they recognized the technology's strengths and limitations. When they relied on AI for tasks outside its areas of competence, their performance was actually worse than that of a control group of consultants who weren't allowed to use AI at all.
研究人员将这种不平坦的边界描述为AI的“参差前沿”——它在某些任务上具有超人的能力，而在其他任务上则出人意料地无能。因此，AI可以在我们拥有专业知识的领域提高生产力，但我们必须警惕，它在我们不具备专业知识的领域可能会误导我们。
The researchers described this uneven boundary as AI's "jagged frontier" — it is superhumanly competent at certain tasks, while surprisingly incompetent at others. As a result, AI can boost productivity in areas where we have expertise, but we must be wary that it can mislead us in areas where we don’t.
随着模型的日益强大，这个前沿将继续移动。但它将永远存在。理解这个前沿在哪里——以及如何在不忽视其缺点的情况下利用该技术的优势——正是AI素养的精髓所在。
As the models become more and more capable, that frontier will continue to shift. But it will always exist. And understanding where that frontier is — and how to leverage the technology's strengths without turning a blind eye to its weaknesses — is the essence of AI literacy.
而且这种素养在任何年龄都变得越来越重要。刚毕业的大学生可能会使用AI来编写软件或分析数据。处于职业生涯中期的经理可能会用它来自动化例行工作、总结报告或测试新的商业想法。退休人员可能会用它来浏览医疗健康信息、管理药物或比较联邦医疗保险选项。
And this literacy is increasingly important at any age. Recent college graduates may use AI to build software or analyze data. A mid-career manager may use it to automate routine work, summarize reports, or test new business ideas. A retiree may use it to navigate healthcare information, manage medications, or compare Medicare options.
这些任务中的每一项都需要的不仅仅是知道如何打开一个应用程序或编程框架。人们还必须知道该问什么问题、对答案抱有多大程度的信任，以及何时需要进行独立核实或寻求专家建议——无论他们是在填写税表、比较贷款条款还是审查法律文件。
Each of these tasks requires more than knowing how to open an app or coding harness. People must also know which questions to ask, how much confidence to place in the answers, and when independent verification or expert advice is required — no matter whether they're filling out tax forms, comparing loan terms, or reviewing legal documents.
掌握这些技能将需要持续的学习，特别是随着AI变得更加强大并更深地融入我们的生活。这正是高校可以发挥重要作用的地方。
Mastering those skills will require continuous learning, especially as AI becomes more capable and more deeply embedded in our lives. That is precisely where colleges and universities have an important role to play.
大学已经具备了满足这一需求的基础设施。毕竟，许多机构通过继续教育、专业证书、高管教育和终身学习项目与校友保持着联系。
Universities already have the basic infrastructure to meet that need. After all, many institutions maintain relationships with alumni through continuing education, professional certificates, executive education, and lifelong learning programs.
旨在实现终身AI素养——并最终实现AI流利度——的项目应该与这些产品并驾齐驱。这些项目可以采取短期课程、可叠加证书、校友进修项目、社区研讨会或雇主合作的形式。
Programs aimed at lifelong AI literacy — and, ultimately, AI fluency — belong alongside those offerings. These might take the form of short courses, stackable certificates, alumni refresher programs, community workshops, or employer partnerships.
例如，麻省理工学院提供AI提示词工程的专业课程。我的组织最近也为校友推出了一个免费的应用AI微证书。该项目帮助各行各业的毕业生在现实世界的语境中跟上AI的步伐——涵盖从常见的AI术语到AI偏见的一切内容。
For example, MIT offers professional courses in AI prompt engineering. And my organization recently launched a free Applied AI microcredential for alumni. The program helps graduates across industries keep up with AI in real-world contexts — covering everything from common AI terminology to AI bias.
除了以职业为导向的教学之外，大学还可以为生命中的每个阶段提供实用的AI教育。新手父母可以学习如何评估AI为其孩子生成的健康建议，而退休人员可以参加关于识别AI驱动的金融诈骗的研讨会。
Beyond career-focused instruction, universities could offer practical AI education for every stage of life. A new parent could learn how to evaluate AI-generated health advice for their child, while a retiree could take a workshop on spotting AI-powered financial scams.
在未来的岁月里，AI素养将变得像今天的数字素养一样至关重要。长期以来，大学一直帮助人们适应社会中变革性的变化。在AI时代，高等教育应该通过成为AI教育的终身伙伴，继续承担这一责任。
In the years ahead, AI literacy will become as essential as digital literacy is today. Universities have long helped people adapt to transformative changes in society. In the AI era, higher education should continue to embrace that responsibility by becoming lifelong partners in AI education.