Heisi Kurig: artificial intelligence will not take jobs from those who understand how it works

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become both a tool and a source of uncertainty. Large language models are writing code, translating, composing essays and creating designs. Naturally, this raises the question of whether there is any point in studying IT if machines can do everything independently. The answer is simple: AI will not take jobs from those who understand how it works and how to use it to make their work more efficient, writes Heisi Kurig, Head of the Institute of Computer Science.

In the future, every professional will need to know how to use AI to perform their duties. I am not only referring to generative language models, but also domain-specific solutions. AI models applied in different fields can assist, for example, radiologists who use medical imaging in their daily work, loan specialists who need to assess various risks when granting credit, urban planners who manage traffic flows, catering companies that use food delivery platforms, some of which are already based on AI models, and so on. The ability to use AI is becoming an increasingly important part of everyone’s digital competence.

In addition to the above, people with ICT education must be able to create such solutions for companies in IT and other sectors. OSKA’s 2024 ICT monitoring analysis report reveals that 40% of people with IT education work in other sectors in their field. With wider adoption of AI, this need will grow even further, as enterprises or institutions will require someone on site who can guide development activities, make the necessary preparations, and, if needed, be an informed customer.

ICT sector companies emphasise that they no longer need as many people who can only write code. It is increasingly important to be able to create entirely new, complex technologies and improve existing ones to meet user needs. If a young person graduating from school today acquires these skills, they will remain competitive for decades to come.

It is sometimes said that IT education at the University of Tartu is too theoretical. This opinion is short-sighted. While technologies and tools are updated every few years and new programming languages are constantly being introduced, the strong theoretical foundation stays with learners throughout their lives. None of us can accurately predict how far technology will have advanced in ten, let alone twenty years. Solid basic knowledge and the ability to learn independently enable coping with such changes – learning solely through practical solutions does not guarantee that. Therefore, future-proof education can be offered by curricula that strike a good balance between foundational knowledge and the opportunity to apply the acquired knowledge to solve problems.

I would also like to highlight how much we focus at the University of Tartu not only on teaching solid basic knowledge, but also on teamwork and project-based learning, and how extensively our students collaborate with companies during their studies already. For example, there are courses amounting to roughly one academic year in both bachelor’s and master’s curricula, where students are taught not only by university lecturers but also by specialists from enterprises and the public sector. Students solve tasks set by companies, implement projects proposed by companies, participate in hackathons, undertake traineeships, and write their graduation theses on topics suggested by companies. For example, last academic year, the accounting firm Trigon purchased a solution our students had developed as part of a course. Even more complex problems are addressed at the doctoral level. For example, Eduardo Brito, a doctoral researcher in computer science at the University of Tartu, in collaboration with the company Cybernetica AS, developed the world’s first decentralised system architecture that enables cryptographic, and therefore much more secure, verification of a person’s or device’s location. Brito’s solution enhances the reliability of digital systems: in the field of law, such location verification could become an accepted form of evidence, and in times of crisis, help quickly verify transmitted information.

Thus, AI development does not mean job losses in the IT sector, but rather a transformation of the content of work. Those with strong foundational knowledge, analytical thinking, and the ability to understand technology will always find professional roles in ICT or other sectors. The University of Tartu provides young people with the knowledge and skills that enable them to adapt to the future while also shaping it themselves.