Futuristic #45 – Will AI Kill School as We Know It?

Futuristic #45 – Will AI Kill School as We Know It?

From Futuristic by Cameron Reilly

August 23, 2025 · 1h 0m

About this episode

Cameron Reilly and Nick Johnstone discuss the impact of AI on the future of education and the evolving role of schools and teachers.

In this episode of **Futuristic**, Cameron is joined by his old friend **Nick Johnstone**, Principal of Toowoomba Anglican School, to explore how **AI is reshaping the future of education**. They dive into the role of schools in a world where every student might have access to unlimited knowledge in their pocket, how teachers’ responsibilities may shift toward mentorship and motivation, and whether schools are even necessary when AI tutors can personalize learning better than any human. The conversation ranges from the challenges of managing devices in classrooms, to what employment might look like in a post-AI economy, to whether robots might one day replace teachers. Along the way, they touch on the social role of schools, legislative drag, the fate of universities, and even sneak in a nostalgic chat about Alice Cooper. FULL TRANSCRIPT   Cameron: [00:00:00] welcome back to the Futuristic, uh, I’m doing this today. My name is Cameron Reilly. For new people doing this without my usual partner in crime, Steve Sammartino, because he’s off doing a keynote somewhere, said he couldn’t make it as is his usual want. But, uh, I’m being joined instead today by…

People in this episode

Host: Cameron Reilly

Guest: Nick Johnstone

Topics covered

  • AI in education
  • future of schools
  • role of teachers
  • personalized learning
  • post-AI economy
  • social role of schools

Keywords

  • AI
  • education
  • schools
  • teachers
  • personalized learning
  • mentorship
  • post-AI economy
  • Toowoomba Anglican School

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Toowoomba Anglican School

More episodes of Futuristic

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Futuristic podcast page.