The Role of Educational Leaders in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Background/purpose. In the first quarter of the twenty-first century, unprecedented developments in technology began to revolutionize ‘modern’ society and started the era of Industry 4.0, which is characterized by the rapid integration of the newest technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), smart technologies, and artificial intelligence (AI) into every aspect of life. Educational institutions, as open social systems, have strongly felt the pressure of changing their pedagogies and practices in response to the demands of Industry 4.0. This has given impetus to the emergence of Education 4.0, which has required redesigning the teaching-learning processes to meet the paramount and multifaceted demands of the digital era while achieving a balance between external demands and the science of pedagogy. Realizing this mission has not only become a crucial task for educational leaders but also emerged as a critical measure of effective leadership in the new era. Materials/methods. This paper builds its argument over the existing literature on the interplay of technology and education and offers some perspectives on the changing roles of leaders, particularly in higher education context, facing the rapid technological revolutions surrounding the current universities. Results. In the age of AI, it is crucial that educational leaders must have flexibility, agility, and productivity as well as develop their communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship competencies. They should also act as digital leaders to enable a digitally-enhanced learning community in the university through establishing a culture of innovation built over the values of openness, transparency, customer centricity, freedom to experiment, diversity, inclusion, trust, and sustainability. Conclusion. In the new era, educational leaders must be aware of their key role in discovering the benefits of novel technologies on one side while devising measures and strategies to tackle their risks on the other.