How educators are preparing students for a future dominated by AI

FEATURED STORY: As the artificial intelligence revolution picks up speed, schools and universities around the Capital Region are racing to use AI as a tool to prepare their students for a workforce in which AI plays an increasingly prominent role.

Fatalism is having a moment. All the young people I know seem resigned to a future where a potential career must follow a narrow trajectory, with “human skills” on one axis and “earning potential” on the other.

This is, of course, a direct response to AI. Students are receiving a message that academic skills like writing, memorization and math are no longer part of the equation when betting on a bright future, and they’re questioning the utility of a diploma.

And yet no one knows how AI is going to play out in the real world. The advent of the internet roused a similar fear of mass job displacement, but changes happened slowly enough for most systems to adjust, despite the rapid acceleration of technology.

This time around, the acceleration seems to be happening even faster, and adjustments feel more urgent. We asked institutions like Sac State and UC Davis what they’re doing to prepare students for an AI-dominated future. Their approaches vary.

– Dakota Morlan, managing editor

In case you missed it: NFL Legend Tom Brady Comes to Sacramento to Promote Card Store

The seven-time Super Bowl champion was here to promote his collecting and trading card shop, CardVault by Tom Brady, which is located in Downtown Commons.

After Setbacks and Restarts, a Beloved Sacramento Sushi Chef Is Back on His Own Terms

Lou’s Sushi reopened Jan. 23 in Midtown Sacramento, nearly a decade after the original restaurant closed. The first Lou’s debuted in 2013 and quickly built a loyal following before shutting its doors in 2017. Now Chef Lou Valente is back behind the counter, reopening the restaurant under the same name and in a familiar part of town.

This Valentine’s, Fall in Love With an Underrated California Wine Destination

There’s nothing better than the stillness of a pastoral view as you sink into your chair and breathe the fresh Sierra Nevada foothills air, a glass of wine in one hand and the other interlaced with your Valentine’s.

How Dubai Chocolate Found Its Way to Sacramento

Dubai chocolate, filled with pistachio and kataifi, is made for our image-obsessed social media culture. To understand how the trend is playing out locally, Comstock’s visited bakeries and cafes across the region and spoke with the people behind the counters.

Recommendations From Our Staff

Judy: Alas, the six-month NFL season is finally over, and I get my Sundays back. Whatever will I do? It’s not like I can turn to the Sacramento Kings for excitement. The football season wrapped up in a big way with my sports idol Tom Brady coming to Sacramento to promote CardVault by Tom Brady, his trading card business. I got to hang out with Tom and 5,000 other enthusiastic sports fans who jammed DOCO for the appearance Thursday. And while the Super Bowl between the Seahawks and Patriots was, well, boring, it was great to see California and San Francisco in the spotlight.

Jennifer: After watching the opening ceremony to the Winter Olympics in Italy, I got curious about what the ceremony looked like when the event was hosted close to home, at Palisades Tahoe, in 1960. Turns out Walt Disney directed the opening ceremony that year, which was almost snowed out by a snap blizzard. The Center for Sacramento History has some footage of it from KCRA’s archives, but the most interesting part of this video is the end, when an enterprising local reporter (who apparently hasn’t got a pass to talk to any of the athletes) asks various attendees where they bought their snazzy winter outfits.

Odds and Ends

Our February issue is an ode to the night workers who keep our city running. Inside, you’ll find a photo essay chronicling their work, along with reporting on the Delta tunnel project, AI in schools and more. Read it now on your computer, phone or tablet.

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