The Age of De-Skilling

Forget the apocalypse — AI's real threat is quieter: the erosion of our own abilities. As machines handle more cognitive work, we risk atrophying skills we’ve come to rely on, from interpreting literature to legal analysis. Kwame Anthony Appiah asks: How do we harness AI to elevate human work without becoming passive reviewers of systems we no longer understand?

For Expertise to Matter, Nonpartisan Institutions Need New Communications Strategies

Renée DiResta and Rachel Kleinfeld argue that traditional top-down communications strategies are fast becoming obsolete. Scholars and policy organizations can’t rely on their credentials and prestige alone. To connect with modern audiences, legacy institutions must understand how the new media landscape emphasizes authenticity, resonance, and audience engagement above all.

Rethinking Internships to Let Students ‘Try On’ Purpose

Work Shift Teach for America CEO Aneesh Sohoni argues for work experiences that combine skill-building, income, and social impact. Teach For America’s Ignite Fellowship lets college students “try on” purpose-driven careers while addressing urgent needs in local communities.

America’s Children Are Unwell. Are Schools Part of the Problem?

The New York Times Jia Lynn Yang examines how the shift from factories and farms to offices led to the rise of a schooled society. The resulting standardization, increased workloads, and reduced play have contributed to rising mental health diagnoses among students. All this begs the question: Is school the best way to learn?

Realising a Lifelong Learning Nation: Global Perspectives and Opportunities

Lifelong learning isn't optional anymore. Here Matt Sigelman outlines a more responsive model for human capital development — one that connects education, credentials, employers, and public infrastructure to meet the demands of an AI-driven economy.

Workforce Realigned, Volume II

Following on their first compilation, Social Finance assembles some of the sharpest thinkers and practitioners providing insight on promising novel ways to enable transitions and mobility in employment.

Internships and Beyond: Strengthening Career Value Across Diverse Models of Work-Based Learning

From Strada Education Foundation, insight on the strength of student demand for work-based learning experiences, and how universities and workplaces are responding.

The Expertise Upheaval: How Generative AI’s Impact on Learning Curves Will Reshape the Workplace

The latest from Burning Glass Institute on the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs long requiring highly trained and experience professionals.

The Broken Marketplace: America’s School-to-Work Crisis

Recent research from the Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX on how difficult it currently is for young people to find good employment opportunities and for employers to find young talent.

America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age

A joint report of the US Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education on how to prepare Americans of the new world of work.