AI's rise requires schools to prepare students for drastically different workforce

For the last century or so, K-12 education has primarily aimed to prepare high school graduates for work in manufacturing and similar fields. Recent years have seen schools shift away from that historical model toward the idea of "School 2.0," recognizing changes in the labor market. These moves have been largely due to increasing automation of those jobs and a greater need for skilled workers in growing fields like computer science, hence a greater focus on coding and other STEM skills. Artificial intelligence's projected growth highlights the need for that shift, as it threatens to change the face of the workforce even more drastically. The major players in self-driving car development, for example, are now eyeing automated big rigs, and fully automated restaurants have existed in the U.S. since at least 2015 -- a move that would disrupt a popular first job option for high school teens.