The real shift is not technology. It is skills. This is the moment we must understand—clearly and without hesitation—that the future will not be shaped by those who simply adopt AI tools, but by those who know how to think, question, and guide them. We are entering a new era where knowledge alone is no longer enough. Knowing what to think is losing ground. Knowing how to think is becoming everything. Memorisation is fading in value, while reasoning, judgement, and interpretation are rising. The ability to ask the right question is becoming more powerful than having the answer itself. This is not a small shift. This is a structural shift. A skills earthquake.
We must start calling things by their real name. Prompting is not a technical skill. Prompting is thinking. And thinking is now economic value. Those who can interact with AI systems with clarity, logic, and purpose will lead across every sector—from business to healthcare, from education to public administration. Those who cannot will not be replaced by machines. They will be replaced by people who understand how to use them better.
For Malta, this is not just an opportunity. It is a national responsibility. We are a small country. We cannot compete on size. We must compete on quality, productivity, and intelligence. And that begins with skills. If we want to remain competitive, grow our economy, and reduce long-term pressures on our infrastructure and labour markets, we must shift decisively towards a skills-first national strategy. Not tomorrow. Now.
Government must lead this transformation with clarity and courage. Education must be redesigned—not adjusted. AI cannot remain a subject. It must become a layer across every subject. Students must not only learn content. They must learn:
Assessment must evolve. We must move beyond memorisation-based exams and towards thinking-based evaluation. Teachers must be empowered—not replaced. They must become designers of thinking, supported by AI, not competing with it.
At the same time, we must invest in national upskilling:
Because this transformation must be inclusive. If we fail to include, we risk dividing society into those who understand AI—and those who are left behind by it.
The next decade will not unfold gradually. It will accelerate. AI will become invisible—embedded in every workflow, every decision, every system we interact with. Every job will become a tech-enabled job—not because everyone codes, but because everyone collaborates with AI. Entry-level roles will shift dramatically. Routine tasks will disappear, and young people will need to start at a higher level—thinking, analysing, creating. Productivity will redefine economies. Countries that invest in skills will grow stronger, faster, and more sustainably. At the same time, inequality risks will rise. Those without the right skills will struggle—not because there are no jobs, but because they are not prepared for them. Decision-making will move from reactive to predictive. From slow to real-time.
Malta stands at a defining point. We can continue adapting slowly… or we can lead decisively. We already have the foundations:
But awareness is not enough. Action is required. We must invest boldly in skills, in education, in cognitive development, and in national AI literacy. Because in this new economy, value will not come from access to technology. It will come from how well we use it.
The future is not being written by machines. It is being written by those who know how to think with them. This is Malta’s moment to rise—not by chance, but by choice. A choice to invest in people. A choice to lead through skills. A choice to build a society ready for what comes next.
I WILL INSIST that Malta places skills, thinking, and AI literacy at the centre of its national strategy—because in the age of AI, those who think better…will lead the future.