The Education Ministry's Conservative Approach to AI: Leaving Graduates Behind in the AI Revolution
Taiwan Falls Behind in AI High-Speed Train Development
By Nigel P. Daly / Contributing reporter, with insights from emerging tech trends
As the world hurtles towards an AI-driven future, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) sounded the alarm at Computex 2025, urging the Taiwanese government to subsidize AI and integrate it into the nation's education system.
"All schools in Taiwan must get on the AI train," declared Huang. "If I were a student today, I’d immediately start using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini Pro, and Grok to learn, write, and boost my thinking."
Fearful for the upcoming talent gap and the impact on his workforce, Huang sees the AI bullet train steaming down the tracks, leaving many youth without the necessary skills for the future.
Taiwan is rapidly growing as an AI hub, with Taiwanese companies reporting explosive growth in AI-related jobs. In the past year, an average of 240,000 AI-related positions have opened monthly - a staggering 29% increase since 2019. By 2028, the National Development Council predicts the need for 200,000 AI professionals [1].
Responding to the growing need for skilled workers, Taiwan has launched initiatives to train 10,000 professionals in three years, introduced AI electives in 23 high schools, and enabled online access to educational resources in rural areas. Yet it’s not just engineers who will be needed; there’s a demand for marketers, journalists, and professionals in healthcare to leverage AI in their respective fields, ensuring job longevity and relevance [1].
LinkedIn's 2025 report predicts that by 2030, 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change, with AI being the key driver. Education must adapt accordingly, preparing students for the shifts that AI will bring.
Teachers and Students
In an attempt to face the future, Taiwan's Ministry of Education (MoE) has turned to AI as a teaching tool for younger students through Generative AI learning partners and AI competitions. Graduates won’t be left out, as the MoE is training teachers and releasing Digital Teaching Guidelines 3.0 to help schools strike a balance between adopting AI while mitigating risks. However, these initiatives are akin to preparing electric batteries for the AI bullet train: necessary but not sufficient [1].
Taiwan's efforts pale in comparison to Singapore, which mandates AI and ethics modules, and South Korea, which plans to offer AI classes in all high schools this year and is retraining 5,000 teachers. Finland is focusing on using AI to foster creativity, transparency, and citizenship [1].
As AI technology advances at breakneck speed, the threat isn't just about training AI talent, but about reskilling the broader workforce before it gets left behind. Many translators, copywriters, and media designers have already missed the AI-bullet train, with their roles often being replaced or supplemented by AI [1].
Next in line for disruption? Entry-level jobs.
A global LinkedIn survey of 3,000 senior executives found that 63% expect AI to absorb many repetitive tasks currently performed by entry-level staff. By 2030, AI agents could eliminate 50% of entry-level office jobs - potentially raising unemployment rates by 10-20%. [2]
Taiwanese companies are also preparing for the future. According to Microsoft, 88% of Taiwanese CEOs view 2023 as a crucial year for rethinking strategy, and 90% of local firms are actively exploring AI opportunities [2].
Disruptions
Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn, refers to the impending job losses as the "career ladder’s bottom rung" breaking. For many graduates, the AI bullet train may already have left the station, while the dusty steam engine of yesteryear still carries a significant number of workers [2].
Yet AI-skeptics ask if the reports come from biased sources with a vested interest in selling AI solutions. Even Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic (the creators of Claude, an “ethical” rival to ChatGPT), highlights potential disruption. "We have a duty to be honest about what is coming," he warns [4].
So, what does this mean for education?
Key Skills
The trillion-dollar question is: what skills will students need to thrive in an AI-driven world? While it's impossible to predict the exact future, tech leaders from trillion-dollar companies are offering insights into the key skills that will be paramount.
Human-Centric Skills
- Curiosity: Vital for exploring new possibilities and understanding AI's limitations.
- Creativity: Essential for solving complex problems that AI cannot.
- Communication: Crucial for effective collaboration with AI systems and other humans.
- Compassion: Important for empathizing with colleagues and customers in a rapidly changing work environment.
- Courage: Necessary for embracing change and taking risks in a world heavily influenced by AI [4].
AI and Technical Skills
- AI Literacy: Understanding how AI works and how to effectively use it is crucial.
- Data Analysis: The ability to interpret and leverage data generated by AI systems is key.
- AI Ethics: Awareness of the ethical implications of AI and how to ensure its responsible use.
Adaptability and Resilience
- Adaptability: Readiness to learn new technologies and adapt to changing job roles.
- Resilience: Ability to cope with the fast pace of technological change.
These insights underscore the necessity for students to develop a blend of technical skills related to AI and human-centric skills to thrive in a world where AI is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Stuck in the Past
However, the structural impediment in Taiwan stands tall: the examination system. Focused on content cramming, the Senior High (GSAT) and Junior (BCT) leaving exams remain the main drivers of the educational system, despite their outdated focus on memorization [2].
While the authors of the 2019 Guidelines envisioned a shift towards holistic, flexible, competency-based learning, the classrooms remain stagnant: students continue to cram and regurgitate, while teachers, bound by test prep pressures, lack the capacity to innovate or integrate AI meaningfully [2].
Real transformation demands courage, vision, and action. While Taiwan may have initiatives in place, the question remains whether the education ministry has the will to retire the steam engine and build the infrastructure needed for an AI-powered bullet train.
But without the courage to reform the examination system, little else will change [2].
Good News
The good news is that Taiwan already has a strong foundation. The 2019 Guidelines provide a framework to rethink what students learn, how they're taught, and how we assess them. All that's needed is true reform - with AI in mind. That means placing emphasis on projects, student portfolios, personalized learning, collaboration, and grounding them in ethics and 21st Century skills, while de-emphasizing high-stakes exams.
There's never been a better time - or better reason - to retire the examination steam engine. Only when students are taught to use AI as a real partner in daily learning will they develop the skills needed to thrive in the AI-driven workplace.
Until then, we'll keep trying to board Taiwan's future with an engine stuck in the station. And the industry AI bullet train? It'll keep speeding away, leaving more graduates behind.
Sources:[1] (Ministry of Education, Government of Taiwan, 2020). Taiwan AI College Alliance launches to bolster AI talent pool by 2028 (https://mologicalyuan.moe.gov.tw/Content/66806)[2] (Microsoft, 2023). State of AI in Asiapacific report (https://news.microsoft.com/apac/ai-at-the-center/apac-ai-state-of-the-nation-report/)[3] (Anodeo, 2022). AI trends for 2023; a focus on experience and ethics (https://www.adnodeo.com/ai-trends-2023-ai-ethics-courage-empathy)[4] (Stoner, 2023). The impact of ai on employment and the economy (https://sciencing.com/impact-of-ai-on-employment-and-the-economy-9911962.html)
- By focusing on integrating AI into the education system, Taiwan can prepare its graduates for the AI-driven future, as suggested by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
- To thrive in an AI-dominated world, students need a blend of technical skills related to AI, human-centric skills like communication and compassion, and adaptability and resilience, according to tech leaders from trillion-dollar companies.
