Educational Choice In the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Perceptions, Uncertainty, and Educational Decision-Making

Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely expected to transform labor markets and occupational structures. While previous waves of technological change generally increased demand for higher levels of education and skills, AI may also affect tasks traditionally performed by highly educated workers. As a result, young people face growing uncertainty regarding the future returns to educational credentials, fields of study, and occupational pathways.

This session invites contributions that examine whether and how expectations about AI-driven labor market transformations shape educational choices. We are particularly interested in research on educational and occupational decision-making among adolescents and young adults, including transitions into higher education, vocational education and training, and the labor market. Special attention is given to the question of whether AI-related uncertainty reinforces, alters, or reduces existing social inequalities in educational choices and trajectories.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• The reproduction, transformation, or reduction of social inequalities in educational choices under technological uncertainty
• The influence of perceived AI-related risks and opportunities on study and career choices
• Changes in the attractiveness and social status of occupations under conditions of AI diffusion
• Educational responses to labor market uncertainty: prolonging education, changing fields of study, or choosing vocational pathways
• The role of families, schools, peers, and career guidance in shaping expectations about AI

We welcome quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods contributions. Particular interest lies in studies that either provide strong causal evidence on the effects of AI-related expectations and uncertainty on educational choices or contribute to understanding the mechanisms through which such effects emerge.