Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus should develop tailored AI learning pathways, lifelong training opportunities and inclusive digital services to ensure technology strengthens human skills, according to proposals outlined by Skourides.
Learning and workforce development
Skourides said doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, accountants, journalists and entrepreneurs would not use AI in the same way, and proposed learning pathways should therefore be tailored to different professions and sectors.
Education should not end at school or university, he added. As AI changes jobs and professional practices, people will need opportunities to continue learning through workshops, online courses, workplace training and recognised qualifications.
The measures are intended to create a Human+ workforce, in which technology strengthens people’s experience, creativity, judgement and skills.
“The future does not belong to artificial intelligence alone,” Skourides said. “It belongs to people who know how to use AI responsibly, confidently and creatively.”
Socratic AI initiative
One of the strategy’s proposals is the Socratic AI initiative, which would aim to help people ask better questions, test assumptions and think more critically rather than use artificial intelligence only for quick answers.
Students could use the initiative to strengthen curiosity and independent learning, while professionals could use it for reflection and improved decision-making. It could also help citizens question AI-generated information rather than accept it automatically.
“The purpose is not to make machines think instead of people,” Skourides said. “It is to help people think better.”
He said the initiative, like the strategy’s other proposals, would require further design, testing, collaboration and appropriate implementation planning.
Inclusion and accessibility
Skourides said a human-centred strategy must include students, professionals, customers, older citizens, persons with disabilities and people with limited digital skills.
AI could improve accessibility through voice tools, transcription, translation, visual support and easier access to services, but inclusion must be incorporated from the beginning, he said.
Older people and persons with disabilities should be involved in testing services, while human assistance must remain available.
“No citizen should be forced into digital-only systems they cannot confidently use without having the ability to talk to a human operator or agent,” Skourides said, adding that technology should expand choice, independence and dignity rather than create new barriers.
International positioning
Skourides said Cyprus should seek to differentiate itself internationally through trust, agility and responsible innovation, rather than attempt to build the world’s largest AI systems.
