Education in the Meaning Economy: Reimagining Learning for an AI-Shaped Future- Part Two

Artificial intelligence isn’t just reshaping how we work — it’s redefining why we learn. As AI systems increasingly automate cognitive tasks and democratize access to knowledge, the very foundation of the education model — built around what you know — is being challenged. The next generation of learners will enter a world where information is universally accessible, and value will be defined instead by how you think, what you create, and the meaning you can generate with intelligent tools. This talk explores what happens when we shift from a Knowledge Economy to a Meaning Economy, and what that transformation demands from our schools, educators, and institutions. Drawing from real-world examples and insights shared at the University of Louisville, we’ll examine: • How AI is reshaping human skill value — as cognitive labor becomes cheap, creativity, judgment, and empathy rise in importance. • The new role of education — from transmitting content to cultivating adaptability, curiosity, and ethical reasoning. • Why the future of learning is lifelong and disaggregated — with students continually reskilling alongside intelligent systems across dynamic, multi-career lives. • What educators, administrators, and policymakers must do to build new frameworks of assessment, curriculum design, and digital fluency. • How meaning and purpose become core learning outcomes, not philosophical luxuries — the differentiators that keep humans relevant in an age of intelligent abundance. This session will challenge attendees to see AI not as a disruption to manage, but as a moment to redesign the architecture of education itself — one that rewards the capacity to reason, to collaborate, and to find purpose