I. Preparing North Carolinians for a Future No Machine Can Replace

“Every technological revolution in history has replaced certain kinds of labor, but never the uniquely human capacity for wisdom and judgment. The premium of the AI age will belong to those who think critically, ethically, and humanely.”

— David L. Bahnsen, “AI and the Future of Jobs,” The Bahnsen Group (October 17, 2025)

Everywhere we look, education and job-training programs promise to make workers “AI-ready.” Yet most of those programs still focus on tasks — coding, data entry, document drafting — the very things artificial intelligence is learning to do faster than we can teach them.

So here’s the question we need to ask as educators, parents, and citizens: Are we training our youth and workforce to compete with machines, or to be the kind of people machines can never become?

Artificial intelligence can already write essays, design graphics, and mimic voices. What it cannot do is exercise wisdom — the moral reasoning and discernment that guide right and wrong decisions. That distinctly human quality, not technical speed, will define the next generation’s success.

At NC State Extension, we believe that preparing North Carolinians for the future of work means more than keeping up with technology. It means cultivating ethical awareness, digital discernment, and wisdom — traits that protect communities from misinformation, guide honest leadership, and sustain the trust on which every healthy society depends.

II. What AI Can — and Cannot — Do

Artificial intelligence now touches nearly every profession. Algorithms decide which news stories appear in our feeds, chatbots summarize research papers, and generative models produce videos so realistic that even experts struggle to tell the truth from fabrication. The Detect Fakes project at Northwestern University found that more than a quarter of people cannot identify AI-generated speech when compared to a human voice — a reminder that the line between real and synthetic is growing faint.

In our communities, we see how those same recommendation systems and advertising engines steer what citizens see, like, and share. The technology is dazzling, but its motive is simple: keep people engaged so platforms earn more data and ad revenue. Emotional content, outrage, and fear consistently outperform facts.

Yet, despite its speed and power, AI still lacks what philosophers and educators call moral reasoning. It can process information, but it cannot decide what should be done with that information. It can simulate empathy, but it cannot feel compassion. It can predict patterns, but it cannot judge what is good, fair, or wise.

As scholars at MIT and Stanford note, machine learning optimizes for outcomes — clicks, accuracy, efficiency — while humans must define the values those outcomes serve. In other words, AI can help us make decisions, but only people can determine whether those decisions are ethical. The challenge, then, is not to fear AI or worship it, but to recognize its limits and teach citizens how to navigate them. A society that relies on algorithms without cultivating discernment risks losing not just jobs, but judgment.

III. The Challenge: A World Flooded with Manipulated Information

We now live in a world where seeing is no longer believing. Images, voices, and videos can be digitally fabricated to appear authentic — a phenomenon once confined to science fiction but now common on every social platform.

At Northwestern University’s Detect Fakes project, researchers demonstrate how easy it has become to generate convincing “deepfakes” using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) — the same technology behind the viral “Puffer Jacket Pope” image that fooled millions. These creations blend real footage with artificial intelligence so seamlessly that even trained observers often can’t distinguish truth from imitation.

Meanwhile, social media platforms reward engagement, not accuracy. Algorithms rank emotionally charged content higher than balanced reporting because outrage keeps users scrolling — and scrolling keeps revenue flowing. This cycle creates digital echo chambers where people see only what confirms their existing beliefs. Over time, this narrows perspective, weakens empathy, and erodes public trust.

In Extension’s work across Guilford County, we have witnessed how misinformation also undermines quality of life: job seekers fall for online scams, families share misleading health tips, and citizens lose confidence in public institutions.

Technology alone cannot fix this. What our communities need is a renewed culture of discernment — the wisdom to pause, question, and verify before reacting. That form of education goes beyond “digital skills.” It is a moral skill set: learning to tell the difference between what is possible and what is true.

IV. The Moral and Educational Response

If artificial intelligence can imitate almost everything except conscience, then education must take on a deeper purpose: teaching people how to think wisely, not just efficiently.

Traditional digital-literacy programs often end once participants learn to click, post, or search. But as AI systems increasingly shape those environments, simple technical skill is no longer enough. Learners must also ask the moral questions behind every message: Who created this content? Why was it created? What agenda or context does it serve?

These questions form what educators at Stanford University’s History Education Group call lateral reading—an approach to online information evaluation that trains readers to investigate a source before trusting it. Adapted from Wineburg & McGrew (2017), “Lateral Reading: Reading Less and Learning More When Evaluating Digital Information.” Stanford History Education Group.

Visualized as a Critical Thinking Triangle, the framework helps learners slow down and examine authorship, motivation, and evidence—three pillars of discernment that distinguish informed citizens from passive consumers of digital content.

Adult learning theory (Knowles, 2015) shows that adults persist longer when learning connects to personal relevance and moral purpose. Cognitive engagement research (Chi & Wylie, 2014) demonstrates that reflection after decision-making strengthens reasoning and promotes transfer of judgment to new contexts. UNESCO (2023) emphasizes that global digital-citizenship frameworks must include empathy, ethics, and civic responsibility alongside technical literacy.

This is where Cooperative Extension is uniquely positioned. In computer labs, senior centers, libraries, and reentry programs, Extension educators already foster trust and reflective conversation—the essential conditions for teaching ethical reasoning. When digital-skills workshops include exercises such as Spot the Red Flags or Rewrite the Clickbait, participants do more than learn technology—they practice fairness, honesty, and restraint.

V. Wisdom as Workforce Readiness

In a labor market transformed by automation, the next generation of employability skills will look less like programming languages and more like moral languages—the ability to reason, judge, and choose wisely amid complexity.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2025), the most in-demand skills across industries are not technical—they are analytical thinking, creativity, resilience, empathy, and ethical judgment. Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2023) finds that workers who demonstrate integrity and discernment adapt more successfully to technological change than those trained narrowly for specific digital tools.

AI systems can simulate conversation, but they cannot practice conscience. They can optimize processes, but they cannot determine purpose. In a future where technical competence is expected, ethical discernment becomes the true differentiator. Workers who can spot manipulation, protect data privacy, and communicate truthfully will anchor the integrity of both public and private institutions.

By embedding critical discernment and digital ethics into workforce-readiness and digital-literacy programming, Cooperative Extension provides education that no algorithm can deliver. In Guilford County, workshops on Smart Digital Decisions and Cybersecurity for Job Seekers already model this approach: participants learn to recognize misinformation, evaluate online offers, and respond to technology with caution and confidence.

VI. Extension’s Opportunity — Building a Culture of Digital Wisdom

For more than a century, Cooperative Extension has helped North Carolinians adapt to change—whether that change came through new crops, new technologies, or new community challenges. Today, the next transformation is digital, and the new field to cultivate is wisdom.

Extension operates where research meets daily life. When universities generate new understanding of artificial intelligence, misinformation, or media bias, Extension can translate that science into accessible, practical lessons for families, youth, and workers. Through its neutral, research-based presence, Extension is trusted in communities where national media and online platforms often are not. That trust makes it the ideal place to rebuild civic confidence in an era of digital confusion.

Across North Carolina, local centers are already embedding discernment into daily teaching: Workforce-readiness labs help job seekers recognize legitimate versus deceptive employment ads. Senior technology sessions show participants how to verify information before sharing it with family or neighbors. Youth STEM and 4-H clubs explore how AI works — and discuss what should guide its use.

When citizens can separate truth from falsehood and empathy from manipulation, quality of life improves at every level: families make better financial and health decisions, workplaces communicate more honestly, and communities sustain greater trust and cooperation.

VII. The Future Belongs to the Wise

Artificial intelligence is not the enemy of human progress; it is the test of it. Whether AI becomes a tool for empowerment or exploitation will depend not on the machines we build, but on the people we become.

As algorithms learn to mimic reasoning and automate routine work, our true competitive advantage will not be faster typing or better software—it will be wisdom: the ability to judge truth, act with integrity, and value others above efficiency.

For educators and community leaders, this means our goal must shift. Training people to perform the tasks that AI will soon replace is short-sighted. Training them to think ethically, discern truth from falsehood, and make choices rooted in fairness and compassion is future-proof education.

At NC State Extension and here in Guilford County, our work has always centered on improving quality of life. In the digital era, that mission continues—not in the field or the lab, but in the mind and conscience. When citizens learn to verify before sharing, to empathize before judging, and to lead with integrity, they strengthen not only their employability but the moral fabric of the communities they serve.

The machines will keep learning. Our task is to make sure humanity keeps growing wiser.

References

Chi, M. T. H., & Wylie, R. (2014). The ICAP Framework: Linking Cognitive Engagement to Active Learning Outcomes. Educational Psychologist, 49(4), 219–243.
Knowles, M. S. (2015). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Routledge.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2023). Skills Outlook 2023: The Value of Trust. OECD Publishing.
UNESCO. (2023). Global Framework for Digital Literacy and Citizenship Education. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Wineburg, S., & McGrew, S. (2017). Lateral Reading: Reading Less and Learning More When Evaluating Digital Information. Stanford History Education Group.
World Economic Forum. (2025). Future of Jobs Report 2025. Geneva: WEF.

N.C. Cooperative Extension is an equal opportunity provider.

Questions: Contact Jeffrey Cates, Digital Skills Agent, Guilford County NC, 336.641.2400, jeff_cates@ncsu.edu