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For much of human history, access to information was limited.

Knowledge existed, but it was not always easy to find. Research often meant hours spent in libraries, waiting for newspapers to arrive, or seeking guidance from teachers and experts. Information moved slowly, and access was shaped by geography, institutions, and trusted gatekeepers.

Today, that reality has been completely transformed.

A child with a smartphone can access more information in an afternoon than previous generations encountered in months. News travels instantly. Opinions compete for attention around the clock. Artificial intelligence can generate essays, explanations, images, and arguments within seconds.

We have solved the information problem.

What we have not solved is the judgment problem.

The challenge facing young people today is no longer whether they can find information. It is whether they can interpret it responsibly, challenge it thoughtfully, and use it ethically.

This distinction matters because information alone does not create understanding, and access alone does not create wisdom.

Recent research highlights the scale of this challenge. Analysis of OECD PISA data shows that while young people are increasingly immersed in digital environments, many struggle to evaluate the credibility and quality of information they encounter online. At the same time, UNESCO has warned that misinformation and disinformation have become defining features of the modern information ecosystem, making media and information literacy an essential competency for active citizenship rather than simply a digital skill.

In many ways, the overwhelming volume of content surrounding young people is making thoughtful decision-making harder, not easier. They are forming opinions in environments where speed is rewarded over reflection, certainty over nuance, and virality over truth.

Today's digital platforms are designed to capture attention. Algorithms often amplify emotional reactions. Content is increasingly consumed in fragments rather than in context. The result is a world in which confidence can easily be mistaken for credibility.

The arrival of generative AI has further intensified this challenge.

Much of the discussion around AI has focused on how quickly it can produce information. The more important question is how confidently it can produce information that is incomplete, biased, or simply wrong. Researchers studying generative AI literacy increasingly argue that education must move beyond teaching students how to use AI tools and instead help them critically evaluate AI-generated outputs, understand their limitations, and recognise the ethical implications of relying on them.

In this environment, the ability to ask good questions may become more valuable than the ability to find quick answers.

Where did this information come from?

What evidence supports it?

What perspectives might be missing?

Why was it created?

What are the consequences of acting upon it or sharing it?

These questions are the foundations of sound judgment.

This is why educational institutions can no longer view their role as the transmission of knowledge alone. Schools must become places where judgment is taught deliberately and systematically.

That means helping students develop four essential habits.

First, they must learn to evaluate sources and evidence critically.

Second, they must learn to understand different perspectives and engage constructively with ideas that challenge their own assumptions.

Third, they must develop ethical reasoning—the ability to consider not only whether something is true, but whether it is responsible, fair, and beneficial.

Finally, they must cultivate reflection: the discipline to pause before reacting, verify before sharing, and think before judging.

Importantly, these capabilities cannot be developed through occasional lessons or awareness campaigns. They must be embedded across the educational experience, from classroom discussions and project-based learning to leadership opportunities, community engagement, and everyday interactions.

But schools cannot do this alone. Families play an equally important role in shaping judgment.

Children learn how to navigate complexity not only from what adults teach them, but from what adults model. They learn when parents discuss current events thoughtfully, encourage respectful disagreement, ask how conclusions were reached rather than what conclusions were reached, and demonstrate the humility to change their minds when presented with new evidence.

This collective responsibility is becoming increasingly urgent because the future will place a premium on uniquely human capabilities.

Artificial intelligence can retrieve information, summarise knowledge, and automate many cognitive tasks. What it cannot replace is moral reasoning, empathy, character, wisdom, and the ability to make sound decisions in situations where there are no clear answers.

These qualities remain fundamentally human. And therefore, are ever more valuable.

For too long, educational success has often been measured primarily through academic outcomes. Academic excellence will always matter. But in a world overflowing with information, it is no longer sufficient.

Jay Varkey Deputy CEO, GEMS Education

A student may achieve exceptional grades yet still struggle to navigate misinformation, social pressures, ethical dilemmas, or competing narratives. Academic performance and judgment are not the same thing.

Education today needs to prepare students to not only navigate examinations or careers, but also to resist manipulation, evaluate evidence, engage respectfully with difference, and make principled decisions.

Because ultimately, true learning is measured not by how much information a person can access, but by how wisely they can apply it.