[CONFERENCE] Universities must rethink curricula instead of restricting students' use of AI, professor says

Choi Jae-boong, professor of interdisciplinary AI service design at Sungkyunkwan University, said at the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference in Seoul that universities should rethink curricula instead of trying to restrict students’ use of AI. He argued that education in the AI era should cultivate humanity and prepare students for human-centered leadership. He said AI innovation is inevitable, and universities should create courses that show how AI will transform each field and what kind of people the market will demand.

The keynote was delivered at the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul on Tuesday.

The conference theme was Beyond AI: building human-centered leadership for the next era.

Choi said the four Cs of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration are becoming increasingly important in the age of AI agents.

He said universities should become institutions that value kindness, empathy and consideration for others.

Choi is the author of Phono Sapiens and AI Sapiens, which discuss how new technologies and AI could reshape society and industrial structures.

Published Sep 15, 2026 2:46 pm KST

Updated Sep 15, 2026 6:00 pm KST

'Education in AI era should focus on cultivating humanity'

Choi Jae-boong, professor of interdisciplinary AI service design at Sungkyunkwan University, delivers his keynote speech during the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Choi Jae-boong, professor of interdisciplinary AI service design at Sungkyunkwan University, said education in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) should focus on cultivating humanity, while universities should move away from simply trying to restrict students’ use of AI and instead rethink how their curricula are designed.

Choi shared such visions during his keynote speech at the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Under the theme of “Beyond AI: building human-centered leadership for the next era,” he stressed that AI innovation is an inevitable future and that both leadership and education must undergo a fundamental shift to prepare for it.

“Many Big Tech companies carried out layoffs over the past several years, but when I looked at their headcounts again earlier this year, they had increased because the companies were hiring more AI talent,” Choi said.

“However, the focus of Korean universities last year and even this year was how to prevent students from using AI to do their assignments. Almost no one was talking about how education itself should respond to the AI revolution. … This kind of regulatory approach only makes the side effects more pronounced.”

Choi likened such an approach to an “isolationist policy” that resists reform and tries to keep technologies outside society out of fear of the disruption they may bring. But he stressed that the AI revolution is already unstoppable, as people are increasingly realizing that AI could become a tool that makes a difference in their survival.

“The capital pouring into the AI industry today may be a bubble, and that bubble could burst someday,” he said. “But that flow of capital is drawing more talent into the AI industry, and that is why this revolution will not stop. Humanity has taken out what it considers one of its most precious assets — money — and bet it on the future of AI.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, second from left, raises a toast during his meeting with Korean tech company leaders at a barbecue restaurant in Mapo District, Seoul, June 5. From left are SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Huang, Naver Board Chairman Lee Hae-jin and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

He said such an era requires a different form of leadership and a new vision for the kind of talent needed in this era.

“As we enter the age of AI agents, even the era when asking the right questions (to get the desired results from AI) has come to an end,” Choi said. “We need to find a new direction, and that means developing the values of the four Cs — creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration — are increasingly important.”

Along with those values, Choi stressed that cultivating humanity will become even more important in the AI era. As agentic AI increasingly levels the playing field in terms of practical capabilities, he said the question will ultimately become what kind of person others want to work with.

Choi Jae-boong, professor of mechanical engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, delivers his keynote speech during the 2026 Korea Times Global Conference at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

“When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared on a Korean TV show, he said the people who contributed most to the company’s growth were those who helped other people’s projects with pleasure,” Choi said. “Whether you have a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or are an expert in vibe coding, if practical capabilities become increasingly similar, what kind of person would you choose to work with?”

The same question applies to the expansion of AI. Whether the most advanced AI should be developed to benefit people or used as a tool to relentlessly pursue power ultimately comes down to human values, he said.

“Universities need to debate how they can present a vision for this new era,” Choi said. “They should create courses that explore how AI will transform each field and stay ahead of those changes. Through such efforts, universities need to nurture the kind of people the market will demand.”

“Ultimately, I think the most important thing is for universities themselves to become institutions that value kindness, empathy and consideration for others.”

Choi rose to popularity with his 2019 book “Phono Sapiens,” which put forward the notion in Korea that smartphones had become indispensable to modern life.

As a tech futurist, who studies how new technologies will reshape our society, he expanded the concept to AI in his 2024 book “AI Sapiens,” which explores how humans using AI could reshape industrial structures and usher in a new civilization.

成均馆大学跨学科人工智能服务设计教授崔在峰在首尔举行的2026年韩国时报全球大会上表示，大学应该重新思考课程设置，而不是试图限制学生使用人工智能。他认为，人工智能时代的教育应该培养人文素养，并为学生成为以人为本的领导者做好准备。他指出，人工智能创新势不可挡，大学应该开设相关课程，阐明人工智能将如何改变各个领域，以及市场需要什么样的人才。

周二，在首尔韩国工商会大楼举行的 2026 年韩国时报全球大会上，发表了主题演讲。

会议主题是“超越人工智能：构建以人为本的下一代领导力”。

崔表示，在人工智能时代，创造力、批判性思维、沟通和协作这四个“C”变得越来越重要。

他说，大学应该成为重视善良、同情和体谅他人的机构。

崔是《Phono Sapiens》和《AI Sapiens》的作者，这两本书探讨了新技术和人工智能如何重塑社会和产业结构。

发布于2026年9月15日下午2:46（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月15日韩国时间下午6:00

“人工智能时代的教育应注重培养人文素养”

周二，成均馆大学跨学科人工智能服务设计教授崔在峰在首尔韩国工商会大楼举行的2026年《韩国时报》全球大会上发表主题演讲。（《韩国时报》沈贤哲摄）

成均馆大学跨学科人工智能服务设计教授崔在峰表示，人工智能时代的教育应该注重培养人性，而大学应该摒弃仅仅限制学生使用人工智能的做法，转而重新思考课程的设计方式。

周二，崔在首尔韩国工商会大楼举行的2026年韩国时报全球大会上发表主题演讲时分享了这些观点。他以“超越人工智能：构建以人为本的未来领导力”为主题，强调人工智能创新是不可避免的未来，领导力和教育都必须进行根本性转变才能为此做好准备。

崔表示：“过去几年，许多大型科技公司都进行了裁员，但今年早些时候我再次查看他们的员工人数时，发现员工人数反而增加了，因为这些公司正在招聘更多的人工智能人才。”

“然而，去年乃至今年，韩国大学的关注点都集中在如何阻止学生使用人工智能完成作业上。几乎没有人讨论教育本身应该如何应对人工智能革命……这种监管方式只会让副作用更加明显。”

崔将这种做法比作“孤立主义政策”，这种政策抵制改革，试图将技术排除在社会之外，唯恐其带来颠覆性影响。但他强调，人工智能革命已势不可挡，因为人们越来越意识到，人工智能可能成为关乎生存的工具。

“如今涌入人工智能行业的资本或许是一个泡沫，而这个泡沫总有一天会破裂，”他说道。“但正是这股资本流吸引了更多人才进入人工智能行业，这也是这场变革不会停止的原因。人类已经拿出他们认为最宝贵的资产之一——金钱——并将其押注在人工智能的未来上。”

6月5日，英伟达首席执行官黄仁勋（左二）在首尔麻浦区一家烤肉店与韩国科技公司高管会面时举杯祝酒。左起依次为：SK集团会长崔泰源、黄仁勋、Naver董事会主席李海镇和LG集团会长具光模。（韩国时报 朴时文摄）

他表示，这样的时代需要不同的领导形式和对这个时代所需人才的新愿景。

“随着我们进入人工智能时代，就连通过提出正确问题（从而从人工智能中获得预期结果）的时代也已经结束了，”崔说。“我们需要找到新的方向，这意味着培养4C价值观——创造力、批判性思维、沟通和协作——变得越来越重要。”

除了这些价值观之外，崔还强调，在人工智能时代，培养人文素养将变得更加重要。他表示，随着智能体人工智能在实际能力方面日益接近人类，最终的问题将变成人们愿意与什么样的人共事。

周二，成均馆大学机械工程系教授崔在峰在首尔韩国工商会大楼举行的2026年《韩国时报》全球大会上发表主旨演讲。（《韩国时报》沈贤哲摄）

崔说：“英伟达CEO黄仁勋在韩国一档电视节目中表示，对公司发展贡献最大的人是那些乐于助人、积极参与他人项目的人。无论你是麻省理工学院的博士，还是精通氛围编码的专家，如果实际能力越来越趋同，你会选择和哪种人共事呢？”

同样的问题也适用于人工智能的扩展。他表示，最先进的人工智能究竟应该用于造福人类，还是应该被用作无情追逐权力的工具，最终取决于人类的价值观。

崔教授表示：“大学需要探讨如何为这个新时代描绘蓝图。他们应该开设课程，探讨人工智能将如何改变各个领域，并始终走在这些变革的前沿。通过这些努力，大学需要培养市场所需的人才。”

“归根结底，我认为最重要的是大学本身要成为重视友善、同情和体谅他人的机构。”

崔胜弘凭借 2019 年出版的《手机智人》一书而声名鹊起，该书在韩国提出了智能手机已成为现代生活中不可或缺的观念。

作为一名研究新技术将如何重塑我们社会的科技未来学家，他在 2024 年出版的《人工智能：人类简史》一书中将这一概念扩展到了人工智能领域，探讨了人类如何利用人工智能重塑工业结构并开创新的文明。