Author’s Note
Written in October 2025.
AI is evolving faster than any technology we’ve seen. By the time you read this, some of what I describe may already be outdated — and that’s part of the story. This series isn’t about the tools. It’s about awareness, adaptation, and what it means to stay human in a world that keeps changing.*
Article 2 of the “Adapting in the Age of AI” series.
A few weeks ago, I sat down with a college professor over coffee.
He smiled and said, “You know, Hung, it’s funny how fast things changed this year. Not long ago, my department was trying to catch students using AI. Now we’re telling them to use it — everywhere.”
I laughed. “That’s quite a turnaround. What happened?”
He leaned back. “At first, we treated it like plagiarism. But then we realized — this is the new calculator. Students who don’t learn to use AI will graduate behind. So we shifted. Now we teach them how to use it well.”
The New Skillset
He told me something that stuck.
“Businesses aren’t looking for specialists anymore,” he said. “They’re looking for generalists — people who can think broadly and use AI to do the specialist work.”
That line has been echoing in my mind ever since.
Ten years ago, “data analyst” was one of the hottest jobs around. Today, large language models are already doing 80% of that work — cleaner, faster, and cheaper. The same story is playing out in copywriting, accounting, and design.
The new skill isn’t knowing everything.
It’s knowing how to ask and how to verify what AI gives you.
From Fear to Empowerment
I told him, “That’s exactly what happened in my world. I built GPTs to handle scheduling, social replies, and even marketing. I used to think I was replacing people — now I realize I’m replacing inefficiency.”
He nodded. “Exactly. We can’t stop the shift. We can only teach awareness and adaptability.”
That’s the word again — awareness.
Same lesson, different field.
Education’s Real Revolution
We talked about how the classroom is changing faster than the curriculum.
Students who once worried about memorizing formulas now need to learn how to frame prompts. Professors who once lectured are now learning alongside their students.
He laughed and said, “I tell them, ‘You don’t need to know everything anymore — you just need to know what to ask.’”
That’s a new kind of wisdom.
It’s no longer about holding the answers.
It’s about learning to guide the machine toward better ones.
A Thought to Leave You With
The professor didn’t seem threatened.
He seemed alive — like someone who had stopped resisting the tide and started surfing it.
That’s the mindset shift we all need.
Fear wastes energy. Curiosity creates momentum.
Awareness → Adaptation → Empowerment.
That’s the real syllabus of the AI age.
好運 (good luck) is a skill you can learn.
So is adaptation.