Why is school still needed in the world of ChatGPT? The answer every parent and student should read
A new study by the Taub Center explains the critical importance of basic skills in the AI era. "You can let AI write and calculate for you, but to verify the results, you must know the basics yourself," says Prof. Gil Epstein.
A study by the Taub Center confirms that basic skills are becoming more critical in the age of artificial intelligence. Key competencies remain reading literacy, mathematics, and adaptive problem-solving. The authors warn that over-reliance on technology hinders professional progress.
Prof. Gil Epstein, an economist at Bar-Ilan University and a senior researcher at the Taub Center, notes: "To check what the AI did, you must know the basics yourself." On a day when Israeli children return to school, the question of the relevance of traditional education is more pressing than ever. Researchers analyzed the return on mastery of basic skills in professions exposed to AI and concluded that in these fields, fundamental knowledge retains and even increases its value.
Why it is important not to delegate the basics to AI
"AI can perform simple tasks, but if you let it do everything for you, you will get stuck at the entry level," explains Prof. Epstein. Understanding basic principles is the foundation that allows a person to grow and develop professionally.
The study, conducted together with Michael Debowy and Prof. Avi Weiss, is based on the OECD's international survey (PIAAC) conducted in Israel in 2022–2023. Experts identified three critical skills:
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Reading literacy: deep text comprehension, evaluation of sources, and the ability to draw conclusions.
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Mathematical literacy: extracting quantitative data, reading graphs, and critically verifying numerical logic.
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Adaptive problem-solving: the ability to deal with changing data during a task without ready-made algorithms.
Israel in the skills ranking
PIAAC data shows that Israel ranks 25th to 27th out of 31 OECD countries in basic skills. Prof. Avi Weiss, president of the Taub Center, addresses parents: "The fear of losing skills in the age of screens is real. The ability to work in tandem with AI will require the future generation to have skills exceeding those of today." The researchers call on the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor to strengthen efforts to develop workers' competencies.
Impact on wages
Projections regarding income are less optimistic. While the economy as a whole benefits from increased productivity, the individual employee does not always see this reflected in their pay slip. It is expected that the income gap between highly skilled professionals and others will persist or even widen. In professions most exposed to automation, those who lack strong basic skills will be at risk of wage stagnation or decline.
