AI is here—is Jordan ready?

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just automating tasks—it’s reshaping the professional landscape, creating an entirely new ecosystem of job functions. According to a recent Gartner report, AI-driven careers now fall into three primary categories: current, emerging, and essential roles. For educators, students, and policymakers, understanding these categories is crucial to realigning educational frameworks with future labor market demands.

Current AI Roles are the foundation of today’s AI systems. These include well-established positions such as Data Engineers, who collect and clean large datasets essential for AI functionality; Data Scientists, who develop predictive models and uncover insights from raw data; AI Developers, responsible for building intelligent systems and applications; and UX Designers, who ensure that AI interfaces remain human-friendly. These roles represent the primary entry points into the AI sector and demand robust knowledge in programming, statistics, and system architecture.

As AI technologies mature, Emerging Roles are coming into focus, blending technical expertise with domain-specific knowledge. Decision Engineers translate AI insights into practical business strategies. Knowledge Engineers design semantic structures to enhance machine understanding and reasoning. Model Validators act as the final checkpoint, ensuring AI models are accurate, fair, and ready for deployment. These roles exemplify the hybrid nature of modern AI jobs, combining deep AI skills with sector-based expertise in fields like finance, healthcare, and law.

In today’s fast-evolving digital economy, Must-Have Roles are those critical to any advanced AI operation. The Head of AI sets the vision, aligning AI initiatives with strategic objectives. The Prompt Engineer crafts effective prompts that guide tools like ChatGPT to deliver high-quality results. And the AI Ethicist safeguards privacy, fairness, and accountability across all AI activities. These roles ensure that AI isn’t just powerful—but also responsible and human-centric.

Success in AI doesn’t come from solid expertise, it thrives on collaboration. Across the AI lifecycle, from identifying the right problems to data preparation, model development, and real-world deployment, cross-functional teams are essential. For instance, business strategists define problems AI can solve; data engineers curate the necessary inputs; developers and scientists build the models; while ethicists and validators ensure reliable and ethical execution. The real breakthroughs happen at these intersections, where technology, analysis, and strategy converge.

To prepare for this reality, Jordanian IT institutions must evolve. The first step is revamping university curricula to integrate AI, ethics, and cybersecurity, ensuring students engage in hands-on projects with real-world AI tools. Secondly, forging industry partnerships to deliver AI bootcamps and internships will bridge the skills gap. Access to global platforms like Coursera and edX can fast-track learning in machine learning, natural language processing, and AI governance.

Third, the focus must shift toward human-centric capabilities—communication, leadership, and critical thinking. These uniquely human skills are essential in areas where AI cannot compete. Encouraging team-based projects will mirror real-life work dynamics, fostering collaboration and creative problem-solving.

Equally important is nurturing a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Establishing AI incubators and offering seed funding for student-led initiatives can unleash homegrown solutions to national issues—like using AI for predictive health diagnostics or water conservation. Finally, universities must prepare students for the AI-powered recruitment landscape. As companies like IBM and Oracle rely on AI for screening and interviews, students must be equipped to stand out in this new hiring process.

Global examples offer valuable blueprints. Estonia, for instance, has embedded digital skills into every layer of its education system, resulting in a future-ready, tech-savvy workforce that has attracted international investment. Jordan can tailor this model to its own strategic goals, leveraging its young, ambitious talent pool.

In conclusion, Artificial Intelligence isn’t eliminating jobs, it is revolutionising them. For Jordan’s aspiring IT professionals, this is not a threat but an opportunity to lead. By embedding AI into education, encouraging innovation, and fostering strategic partnerships, we can empower a new generation to shape Jordan’s digital future. But this transformation must happen now. AI’s momentum is relentless. The question isn’t whether we should adapt, but whether we’re doing it fast enough.

Now is the time for universities and government to modernise, for industries to collaborate, and for students to rise. Are you ready to lead this change?