AI can make us faster, but that does not necessarily mean it is making us more capable. As AI becomes embedded in how we work and learn, the real challenge is knowing when to use it, when to question it, and when to rely on our own judgment.
In this episode, I speak with
Rahim Hirji, Founder & Managing Director at
SuperSkills, longtime edtech leader, and author of
SuperSkills: The seven human skills for the age of AI. Rahim has spent more than a decade thinking about the human capabilities that become more important as technology becomes more powerful. His perspective is clear. The skills that will matter most in the AI era are not simply technical. They are the distinctly human capabilities that help us remain intentional about how we think, decide, and work.
We talk about Rahim’s concept of “drift versus design,” why discernment may be one of the most important skills we can develop, and the danger of outsourcing too much of our judgment to AI. We explore the seven superskills he believes will become more valuable as AI advances, why learning teams need to become architects of capability rather than simply creators of content, and how organisations can decide which work should remain deliberately human.
Rahim leaves us with an important question: if AI disappeared tomorrow, would we still know how to do our jobs? Productivity matters, but not if it comes at the cost of the judgment, agency, and capability we need to think for ourselves.
Some curious takeaways:
- Build AI fluency while strengthening human judgment and discernment
- Design intentional relationships with AI instead of drifting into dependency
- Develop the SuperSkills that become more valuable in the AI era
Episode highlights:
(
00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner
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01:21) Life since the SuperSkills book launch
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02:44) The perfect timing for a book about AI and humanity
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06:23) Drift vs design, the core concept of the book
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07:57) Where is the line between AI helping and AI deciding
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10:02) Outsourcing agency to algorithms and social media
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13:56) Discernment as the last mile of thinking
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15:19) Training discernment like training taste
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20:05) The seven SuperSkills and how they were chosen
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23:33) Culture, STEM, and the risk of losing human skills
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27:09) Judgment atrophy and saying no to AI
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31:05) Rethinking our role as architects, not creators
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39:37) Becoming more productive but less capable
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41:43) What kind of humans are we designing in the AI era
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What is Harald’s Curious Corner?
Harald’s Curious Corner is where curiosity meets connection.
Harald chases that question with a guest, gathers perspectives from voices across the industry, and then steps back to reflect on what it all means. The show unfolds like a story arc, part exploration, part roundtable, part reflection, blending imagination with analysis.
The result: trusted insights, meaningful conversations, and forward-looking takeaways that shine a light on where learning is headed next.