Business education is undergoing an unprecedented phase: the emergence of the first generation native to artificial intelligence (AI) is radically transforming the academic landscape. However, this technological revolution poses profound challenges to human intelligence. Matthew Connelly, vice dean of AI at Columbia University, warns that excessive reliance on AI is eroding young people's ability to think independently, while educational institutions, rather than resisting, seem to facilitate this transition. A paradigmatic case is that of Roy Lee, a Columbia student who created an AI tool to cheat in online interviews, receiving financial backing from Andreessen Horowitz. Such initiatives, far from being isolated, reflect a growing trend where ethics and academic integrity are threatened by technological advancement. OpenAI has developed technology capable of identifying AI-generated texts with near-total accuracy, but the initiative was discarded for commercial reasons. The interest of major tech companies in dominating the educational sphere is evident: OpenAI seeks to integrate its bots into the core infrastructure of education, while universities like the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management have already signed agreements to incorporate ChatGPT Edu into their programs. Christian Landau, vice president of the German institution, highlights the importance of networking and professional opportunities as differentiating elements in current education. In France, the NEOMA business school has established a partnership with Mistral, allowing its students to use Le Chat LLM, an alternative to ChatGPT, to analyze content and plan their learning. Educators also use these tools to create teaching materials, evidencing the integration of AI at all educational levels. The London Business School, through its associate dean Graham Hastie, emphasizes that the true value of an elite institution lies in fostering human skills such as creativity, innovation, and critical thinking, beyond mere information transmission. David López, dean of the MBA at Esade, agrees that the focus should shift from content to competencies, especially in decision-making and critical analysis in uncertain environments. The debate over the impact of AI on employment is intense. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, predicts that in less than two years, many law and MBA graduates could be displaced by automation. Lee Newman, dean of IE Business School, advocates for training professionals capable of leading hybrid teams of humans and AI, combining technological innovation and humanism. Studies from Columbia University indicate that the use of AI can negatively affect students' attentive reading ability and originality in writing. Mauro Guillén, vice dean of The Wharton School, acknowledges that certain teaching tasks could be replaced by AI, although he insists on the need to adapt curricula. In Belgium, Vlerick Business School uses AI to boost the professional development of its students, while Carlos López, dean of Esic Business & Marketing School, emphasizes that a school's differential value lies in teaching how to think with AI, not in competing against it. The challenge of establishing clear limits on the use of AI is shared by institutions like Harvard, which promotes mastery of artificial intelligence as a key skill for the future job market. Franc Ponti, a professor at EADA, advocates for practical and participatory classes, restricting device use to foster creativity. Critics like Tyler Cowen from George Mason University warn of the risk that universities will produce a generation ill-prepared for the new job market. Dirk Hovy, dean of Bocconi University, argues that teaching should focus on strengthening critical thinking and the ability to question both machines and people. The confrontation between human and artificial intelligence is already a reality. Matthew Connelly warns that if universities do not defend human intelligence, future generations will face even greater challenges. The key lies in integrating critical thinking and humanistic dialogue into technological training, just as ancient philosophers did. Source: elpais.com