Panel Discussion: Will Life Skills Be Relevant in the Age of AI? Is AI Good for Adolescents?

​As AI becomes embedded in education, work, and everyday decision-making, questions around adolescent wellbeing, agency, and development are increasingly urgent. This panel explores the continued and evolving relevance of life skills such as critical thinking, emotional intelligence, resilience, creativity, and ethical judgment in an AI-enabled world. Drawing on Magic Bus India Foundation’s long-standing focus on life skills as a foundation for employability and social mobility, the discussion will examine how these human capabilities intersect with AI literacy. 

​With perspectives from education, child development, technology, and mental health, the panel will assess how AI can either strengthen or undermine adolescent development depending on how it is designed and deployed. Moving beyond a risk-only lens, the conversation will focus on opportunity, how life skills and AI literacy can be developed together to help young people navigate complexity, make responsible choices, and thrive in a future where human and machine intelligence increasingly coexist.