An inflection point in the region + a conversation on education, learning, and training in the AI age

Hanaa and Lucien are BACK. The hosts catch up with each other, with Lucien discussing a recent long-haul trip back to the United States from Saudi Arabia (with 3 children in tow!). The hosts take some time to discuss their show’s recent deliberate break since the start of Ramadan, and why they paused for a bit during the regional conflict. They share some thoughts on where Saudi Arabia goes from an inflection point now that will ripple through diplomacy, business, and culture.   They also catch up with each other’s recent professional developments; Hanaa talks about her work building a new mission-led ed-tech agency and a forthcoming GCC book on women and vocational education. That led to Lucien’s curiosity (a mini interview!) in Hanaa’s views on how the advent of AI, already a major game-changer in labor and employment, will affect jobs and particularly youth as they enter key phases in the development of their thinking on career paths - something Hanaa has spent a great deal of time understanding. Hanaa discusses how AI is a genuine accelerant for personalized learning, but in schools it is a very different beast — and without a deliberate readiness strategy that protects young people's wellbeing and keeps humans in the loop, the technology deepens the very crisis it promises to solve. Hanaa frames AI in education through the lens of how young people actually learn and aspire, not through the technology itself. She talks about how AI in schools cannot be regulated like AI anywhere else because of two concerns that are paramount with AI for youth: safety and mental health.