President Karis at the opening of Latitude59: education is one of the key issues in the age of artificial intelligence

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 2026, it is impossible to speak at a technology conference without mentioning AI. But today, I would actually like to talk about something slightly different: the future of work and education.

AI has already transformed many jobs, and even bigger changes are likely still ahead. If we want society to benefit fully from artificial intelligence, we need to talk more about the skills people must develop so that AI makes us smarter rather than simply replacing us.

Let me begin with a joke I recently saw online.

In the first image, set about 20 years ago, a young man who has just graduated from high school tells his parents that he has been accepted into university. His parents are delighted and tell him: "You will have a better life and a better career than we did."

In the second image, set today, the young man once again tells his parents that he has been accepted into university. This time, the parents panic and reply: "AI will take those jobs away anyway. Better learn a simple trade instead."

The joke captures quite well the anxieties of our time.

AI is no longer just another technological service. It is rapidly becoming something more like electricity or the wheel - a general-purpose technology that increases productivity across nearly every sector and reshapes entire industries.

Many of you here today are building startups that use AI without actually developing AI models themselves. And that is precisely the important shift. AI gives small companies access to capabilities that were previously available only to very large organizations.

At the same time, it is worth remembering that history has seen similar moments before.

The Industrial Revolution temporarily pushed some skilled craftsmen back into agriculture in certain regions. In times of rapid change, the old world often feels safer than the new one.

But in the long run, the share of agriculture in the economy declined dramatically. Progress proved irreversible.

At the level of the individual, returning to familiar ground may seem safer during periods of disruption. But society as a whole continues to move forward.

Something similar is likely happening with jobs affected by AI today.

We will continue to need well-educated people in the future. But the knowledge and skills that provide an advantage in the labour market will continue to evolve over time.

That was true when electricity transformed the economy. It was true during the digital revolution. And it is true again with AI.

Education is therefore one of the key questions of our time.

That is why we launched the TI Leap program in Estonia. Together with OpenAI and Google, we are working to create a platform for students and teachers that helps improve learning through AI.

Students are already using AI for schoolwork anyway. The question is no longer whether they will use it. The real question is whether we can teach them to use it in ways that develop the skills the future labour market will actually require.

International organizations and think tanks such as OECD and World Economic Forum argue that a large share of the skills we use in our jobs today will change significantly over the next decade.

What will provide a lasting advantage is the ability to learn the ability to continuously improve existing skills and acquire entirely new ones.

Because the ability to learn is ultimately the ability to adapt.

It allows people to adopt new technologies, new ways of working, and new AI-powered services. Just as electricity and digital technologies increased productivity, AI can do the same.

But learning well still depends on the same foundational abilities that a strong education system has always needed to provide.

We need reading skills. Analytical thinking. Mathematics. And we must remain human - able to express ourselves, collaborate, and understand other people.

A strong education stands the test of time.

What becomes more vulnerable are narrow technical skills built around operating one specific machine or pressing one particular button.

So let us use AI wisely.

Not only to work faster, but also to develop ourselves - to become better at the skills the future economy will truly need.

Because the people who benefit most from artificial intelligence will be those who know how to use it most intelligently.

Thank you, and I wish you an inspiring Latitude59 conference - and happy learning.