TL;DR
Turn the school run and nap time into listening time
- Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and originals
- Listen on your phone, tablet or Echo — also offline
- Cancel anytime
In an Oct. 19, 2026 essay, programmer Steve Krouse asks what he should teach his soon-to-be-born son as artificial intelligence challenges the economic value of programming and other skills. Drawing on Neil Postman’s The End of Education, Krouse argues that education may need purposes beyond employment and proposes involving children in shaping those purposes.
Programmer Steve Krouse published an essay on Oct. 19 asking what he should teach his soon-to-be-born son as artificial intelligence challenges the value of programming and other economically useful skills. Drawing on Neil Postman’s 1995 book The End of Education, Krouse argues that education should not be defined only by preparation for work, and suggests parents and children could shape its aims together.
Krouse writes that his wife and he are expecting their first child, and that his professional skill set has begun to feel less secure as AI advances. The essay does not report a new study, policy or formal education program. It is a personal reflection on a question the author says feels newly urgent: what education is for when the connection between skills and a reliable livelihood may change.
He revisits his earlier prediction, made in 2013, that massive open online courses would upend education. In retrospect, he says, he underestimated how persistent schools and universities can be. He draws on Postman’s account of education’s changing purposes and argues that institutions may survive not only because of the reasons they give for existing, but also because of practical and social forces such as prestige, endowments and child care.
Krouse lists several aims that education has served, including helping people become good citizens, earn a living, learn basic facts and contribute to society. He says he once settled on “resourcefulness” as a concise goal, but now wonders whether AI agents that can use tools may take over some tasks associated with that ability. His proposed alternative is not a fixed curriculum: he favors treating children as people and inviting them into conversations about the purpose of their own education.
Education Beyond a Paycheck
The essay speaks to a practical concern for parents and educators: if AI changes which skills employers value, work preparation alone may offer a less stable definition of educational success. Krouse presents that uncertainty as personal rather than settled evidence that jobs or schools are about to disappear. His question is how to prepare a child for a future whose demands are difficult to predict.
His argument also broadens the discussion beyond technology. Krouse points to aims such as citizenship, care for other people and the planet, curiosity, and the ability to shape tools and shared stories. These are proposals drawn from his reading of Postman, not an established consensus about what schools should teach. They matter because they offer parents a way to think about learning that is not measured solely by earnings or test results.
children's educational books about purpose and citizenship
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Edison to AI Agents
Krouse uses past predictions about technology and education to caution against confident forecasts. He quotes Thomas Edison’s 1913 prediction that books would soon become obsolete in public schools and that the school system would be completely changed within a decade. He also cites a poem, reproduced in Postman’s book, imagining radio and recorded lessons making teachers redundant. Those examples show that claims of technological replacement have a long history; they do not establish what AI will do to education.
His reference point is The End of Education, published in 1995. As Krouse recounts it, Postman describes religious purpose as a powerful justification for Western schools for centuries, while suggesting that educational institutions also persist through less explicitly stated social and material forces. Krouse connects this history to his own earlier optimism about online courses and to current AI tools, while acknowledging that past predictions do not settle what comes next.
Postman’s ideas that Krouse highlights include “Spaceship Earth,” a shared responsibility to care for people and the planet; “The American Experiment,” an invitation to curiosity and civic responsibility; and “The World Makers,” a call to understand and create the tools and narratives that shape society. Krouse presents these as possible educational purposes, not as a prescribed program.
“Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools… Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.”
— Thomas Edison, as quoted in The New York Dramatic Mirror in 1913 and reproduced by Krouse
AI’s Effect on Schools and Work
The essay does not establish how quickly AI will change employment, whether programming will lose economic value, or which abilities children will need most. Krouse raises those issues as concerns and possibilities, rather than reporting a measured forecast. It is also unclear whether AI agents will replace the kind of resourcefulness he once viewed as an educational goal or instead change how people exercise it.
No research findings, school-system responses or specific teaching recommendations are included. Krouse does not identify a curriculum he plans to use for his son, who has not yet been born. His conclusions remain personal: the essay argues for examining education’s purposes, but does not show how schools or families might put those ideas into practice or measure their results.
A Family Conversation About Learning
Krouse closes by saying he wants to involve his children in working out the purpose of their education. The immediate next step described in the essay is therefore a family conversation, not a planned policy change or a new educational project. He offers no timetable or account of how that approach might develop as his child grows.
For readers, the broader debate will depend on developments not resolved by this reflection: how AI affects work and teaching, how schools respond, and whether families and educators adopt goals alongside job preparation. Krouse’s essay leaves those questions open while making clear that he does not see a single settled answer to what a parent should teach a child in the AI age.
Key Questions
What is Steve Krouse asking?
He asks what to teach his soon-to-be-born son as AI may change the economic value of skills such as programming, and what broader purpose education should serve.
Does the essay say AI will make schools obsolete?
No. Krouse discusses earlier predictions that technology would displace schools and says he previously underestimated their staying power. He does not claim that AI will eliminate schools.
What educational aims does Krouse consider?
He lists aims including earning a living, citizenship, learning basic facts and becoming a good person. He also highlights ideas from Neil Postman about shared responsibility, civic curiosity and creating tools and narratives.
Does Krouse recommend a specific curriculum?
No. He proposes involving children in conversations about the aims of their education, but does not name a curriculum, teaching method or timetable.
Source: hn
Halloween Picks
halloween
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
