As 2040 Approaches, Should We Still Be Studying for Yesterday’s Jobs?

Across Africa, one question should now be at the heart of the debate on education and employment:

What should a university degree actually be worth in 2040?

For decades, the path seemed relatively straightforward: pursue higher education, earn an engineering degree, train as a doctor, accountant, lawyer, civil servant or technician, and then enter the workforce.

But the world of 2040 is unlikely to resemble the world of 2000.

Artificial intelligence is advancing at extraordinary speed. Robotics is gradually moving beyond factories and into services, logistics, healthcare, agriculture and, perhaps sooner than we expect, many aspects of everyday life. AI can already write, translate, analyse data, generate images, produce computer code and assist with a growing range of intellectual tasks.

So the question is no longer simply:

“What should I study?”

The more important question is becoming:

“Which human capabilities will remain indispensable in a world where machines know and do more every year?”

Elon Musk Forces Us to Confront the Question

Elon Musk has pushed this debate toward some of its most radical conclusions.

In interviews, he has argued that many office-based jobs could be significantly affected by artificial intelligence and has suggested that, in certain scenarios, the combination of AI and robotics could eventually make human labour increasingly optional. He has even discussed the possibility of a future “universal high income,” while acknowledging that such a transformation could create major social disruptions.

Speaking about humanoid robots, Musk has also suggested that physical work could eventually become a choice rather than a necessity.

These predictions should, of course, be treated with caution. They are not scientific certainties, nor should they be interpreted as an inevitable roadmap for the future.

But they force Africa to confront a fundamental question:

If some of the tasks we are training people to perform today can tomorrow be carried out by artificial intelligence or robots, should we continue educating our young people in exactly the same way?

Do We Still Need Traditional Engineering Degrees?

The answer is certainly not:

“No, we no longer need engineers.”

That would be a serious mistake.

Africa will continue to need engineers capable of designing and building roads, bridges, power plants, water systems, digital infrastructure, agricultural technologies, machinery and new energy solutions.

But the engineer of 2040 will probably need a different profile.

An engineer will no longer be expected only to calculate, design and execute.

They will also need to know how to work alongside AI, supervise robotic systems, understand data, protect digital infrastructure, communicate effectively, manage complex projects and grasp the economic and human dimensions of technology.

In other words, the problem is not the engineer.

The problem is the engineer who knows only how to work the old way.

The same principle applies to almost every profession.

An accountant who knows how to use AI will probably be more competitive than one who refuses to use it.

A journalist who can investigate, verify information and use AI to analyse data will have an advantage over one who simply produces text mechanically.

An agronomist who can work with drones, sensors, weather data and AI could transform agricultural productivity.

A security professional who understands cybersecurity, intelligent video systems, digital surveillance and behavioural analytics will have access to new professional opportunities.

The future of work will not necessarily eliminate professions.

It will increasingly reshape the skills required to perform them.

Could the Humanities Become a Strength in the Digital Age?

This is where the debate becomes particularly interesting.

Literature, philosophy, history, linguistics and the broader humanities are often presented as fields of study that have little connection with emerging technologies.

I believe this perception needs to change.

Humanities education could become a powerful gateway into the digital and AI-driven economy.

Why?

Because artificial intelligence is deeply connected to language.

AI systems process words, texts, concepts, information, meaning and human intentions.

Someone trained in literature learns to analyse language, recognise nuance, interpret texts, construct narratives, develop arguments, understand context and examine human behaviour.

These skills do not disappear because AI has arrived.

They may actually become more valuable.

Tomorrow, we will need people who can build bridges between technology and humanity.

We will need specialists in digital content.

AI-assisted editorial strategists.

Digital communication professionals.

Experts in information monitoring and competitive intelligence.

Information and data analysts.

AI ethics specialists.

Creators who know how to work effectively with generative AI.

Professionals capable of verifying and challenging information produced by machines.

And specialists in African languages who can help bring those languages into the digital ecosystem.

This is why it would be dangerous to dismiss literature and the humanities as fields of study with “no future.”

The opposite may be true.

My Own Career Reflects This Changing Landscape

My own professional journey illustrates precisely this kind of bridge between disciplines.

My background in competitive intelligence, with a strong focus on information, strategy and security, has shown me that we can no longer afford to place individuals inside rigid academic and professional boxes.

Someone can come from the humanities, communication, law, history or literature and later move into technology, competitive intelligence, cybersecurity, digital media or artificial intelligence.

What increasingly matters is not simply the degree someone has earned.

It is the ability to transform knowledge and connect it to emerging tools and technologies.

A literature graduate who learns AI can become a digital creator.

A historian who develops data skills can become an analyst.

A communications specialist who masters AI tools can build a career in digital marketing and strategic communication.

A student of African languages who learns technology can contribute to the development of AI systems capable of understanding Mooré, Dioula, Wolof, Hausa and dozens of other African languages.

The future may belong less to specialists confined to a single discipline and more to people who can connect different worlds.

Africa Must Not Become Merely a Consumer of AI

This may be the most important point of all.

Africa cannot afford to wait until 2040 to discover that technology has transformed the labour market.

The transition must begin now.

Yes, we need to train AI engineers, robotics specialists and software developers.

But we also need lawyers who understand AI.

Journalists who can identify synthetic and manipulated content.

Teachers who know how to use AI responsibly in education.

Entrepreneurs capable of building technology companies adapted to African realities.

Cybersecurity specialists.

Digital agriculture experts.

Healthcare professionals capable of using AI-powered diagnostic and decision-support tools.

Linguists who can bring African languages into the digital world.

And, above all, we must teach young people how to keep learning throughout their lives.

A degree earned at the age of 22 may no longer be enough to guarantee a career lasting until the age of 60.

The Degree Will Not Disappear. Its Role Will Change.

By 2040, I do not necessarily believe we will need fewer university degrees.

What we will need are degrees accompanied by practical, adaptable and continuously evolving skills.

Young Africans should be able to say:

“This is what I studied — but, more importantly, this is what I can do with what I have learned.”

That is a fundamental distinction.

Initial education will remain the foundation.

Lifelong learning will become the norm.

And artificial intelligence will probably become as ordinary a workplace tool as computers and smartphones are today.

Our Real Failure Would Be Preparing Young People for Yesterday's Jobs

Africa's challenge is not simply unemployment.

An even greater danger is producing thousands of graduates every year who are perfectly prepared for a labour market that may no longer exist in the same form.

We therefore need to ask a much more ambitious question:

What kind of African university do we want by 2040?

Do we want universities that simply produce graduates?

Or do we want universities that produce creators, entrepreneurs, researchers, engineers, analysts, communicators and innovators who can work alongside machines without becoming dependent on them?

Technology should not be viewed solely as a threat to African employment.

It could become a historic opportunity.

But only if Africa refuses to become merely a consumer of technologies designed elsewhere.

Africa must also become a place where the technologies of tomorrow are imagined, developed and built.

Conclusion: We Should Stop Choosing Between Literature and Technology

The debate should therefore not pit the humanities against science and technology.

It should pit rigid education systems against education systems capable of evolving.

Engineers must learn to communicate.

Humanities graduates must have opportunities to acquire digital skills.

Lawyers must understand AI.

Journalists must understand algorithms.

Entrepreneurs must understand data.

And everyone must learn how to work effectively with intelligent machines.

As 2040 approaches, the question may no longer be:

“Are you an engineer or a humanities graduate?”

Instead, it may be:

“What can you do that artificial intelligence cannot easily replace — and, above all, what can you do WITH it?”

For Africa's young people, this may become one of the defining battles of the next twenty years.

Let us not prepare our children for the world we knew. Let us prepare them for the world they will build.

Dr. Jacky Bayili
PhD in Information and Communication Sciences
Independent Web Journalist