Is Higher Education Preparing Students for an AI-Driven Future? Reflections from a UCLA Undergraduate

By Georgiana Morris, Marketing & Communications Intern at the International Youth Foundation, UCLA Undergraduate   

Artificial Intelligence (AI) permeates every second of our lives. Yet in higher education, it often feels like background noise rather than a core skill students are expected to master. Most of us recognize AI’s transformative potential, but few receive hands-on preparation for how it will reshape our careers.

That’s why the work of the International Youth Foundation (IYF) feels so compelling. IYF equips young people worldwide with the adaptability, creativity, and digital fluency needed to thrive in an AI-driven economy. Their programs illustrate what higher education could—and should—look like: institutions producing graduates ready not just to adapt to AI, but to lead with it.

Awareness vs. Preparedness  

As a rising junior at UCLA, I interact with AI every day—whether through administrative chatbots, AI-assisted grading tools, or professors cautioning us not to plagiarize with ChatGPT. Clubs and peers are exploring AI’s creative potential, but in the classroom, AI is rarely presented as a skill essential to our professional futures.

This disconnect is not unique to UCLA. Students across campuses share similar feelings. 

“My college recently sent out an email with schoolwide access to ChatGPT 5,” says Emily Poehlmann, Cal Poly SLO undergraduate. “Which doesn’t make any sense considering they only ever tell us not to use ChatGPT for coursework.” 

From noticing changes in campus policy, to studying shifts in federal law due to AI, university students are at a critical junction to learn more than just what AI is. As a Political Science and Environmental Science student, I’m in a unique position to observe firsthand the changes AI makes to a greater area than perhaps other majors do. I’ve watched how laws, policies, and norms evolve, and even disappear, under the pressure of new technologies. This perspective has shown me just how critical the juncture my peer and I stand in is, to be able to lead this AI-driven future. Yet, the gap between learning about AI and learning with AI, is vast. 

AI Literacy vs. AI Fluency 

“I don’t know how to use AI. I’ve used ChatGPT for small tasks, but I didn’t realize there were so many other forms of generative AI,” says Alexa Pologeorgis, Bastyr alum and Nutrition Science major. Her reflection captures the challenge facing many students today. 

In the AI world, there’s a key distinction between literacy and fluency. AI literacy is the ability to understand, use, and evaluate AI technologies. Most people will pick this up simply by interacting with tools like ChatGPT or AI-powered apps. But AI fluency goes much further: it’s the ability to work effectively, efficiently, ethically, and safely with AI to achieve goals and drive value.

Examples of AI fluency are crafting strong prompts, critically evaluating AI-generated output, and understanding the limitations and risks of AI systems. The gap between literacy and fluency is already large and widens as each new generation of the workforce lacks the ability to apply their AI skills to an ever-changing market. Without the training to use AI strategically, graduates enter a workforce unprepared for industries where AI is reshaping logistics, data management, communications, and governance, among many others.  

Employers increasingly expect adaptability, digital literacy, and AI fluency, and students are not being equipped adequately to take on careers constantly impacted by AI. In my own department, Political Science, AI is already revolutionizing policy analysis, campaign strategies, content production, and even lawmaking. Yet students like me are rarely asked to critically or creatively engage with these tools, leaving us ill-prepared for the future of our discipline.  

Reimagining Education Through Models like IYF 

This summer, I had an incredible opportunity to work alongside IYF as the Marketing and Communications Intern. Working with IYF has been pivotal to my career interests, skills, and even my personal passions. Like many of my peers, I had underestimated how deeply AI is revolutionizing our world. What stood out to me the most this summer was the high priority IYF places on AI fluency and its commitment to empowering youth to lead in this area. 

IYF doesn’t just train young people in technical skills. They encourage students to think critically and apply AI tools to real challenges in their communities and beyond.  

Initiatives like Conectadas in Mexico, which trains young women in IT and cybersecurity support skills, or Microsoft Regional LATAM, which equips students with virtual digital skills training, show how targeted and localized training can prepare youth for an AI-driven job market. These efforts foster not only technical expertise but also adaptability, confidence, and leadership.

IYF believes that change starts with educated, employed, and engaged young people. I believe that too. Programs like these show how bottom-up approaches can equip youth with both the tools to succeed and the awareness to drive positive, sustainable change in their communities.

Universities have both the opportunity and the responsibility to do more. Higher education must reimagine modern learning to integrate AI across disciplines—not simply teaching students to “use” AI, but guiding us to critically examine its role in society.

AI is not a passing trend. It is reshaping economies, governance, culture, and everyday life. If universities want to remain leaders in producing knowledge and preparing future leaders, they must meet students halfway in this AI-driven world.