Sebastian Văduva

I have spent much of my professional life pendulating between academia and business. I taught students, worked with entrepreneurs and executives, built businesses, and experienced technology reshape entire industries.

In both scenarios, we spend significant time planning for the future. What skills will our students need? Which jobs will disappear? Which opportunities will emerge? Where should we invest our time and money? Will artificial intelligence soon render us obsolete?

These are important questions; however, the more I experience business and technology, the more I ask myself, “What are we educating people for?”

Competence is not enough.
Historically, education has been correlated with competence. We teach students and executives the skills they need to perform their jobs well. We train doctors to practice medicine, managers to lead people and organizations, theologians to interpret Scripture, engineers to build, and entrepreneurs to innovate. Competence matters. But knowledge and excellence are not enough.

We have traditionally viewed ethics, entrepreneurship, and technology as separate, sometimes adversarial subjects. In the new geopolitical context that technology has foisted on us, it’s imperative to include them in the same conversation.

Technology tells us what’s possible; business models tell us whether it’s profitable; data tell us whether it’s efficient. But none of these tell us whether it’s worth pursuing! It requires virtue, character, responsibility, wisdom, and the willingness to consider the human side of every business model, algorithm, or innovation. The more powerful our technological tools become, the more consequential the human questions will be.

Information vs. formation
I believe Christian education offers a distinctive contribution. Paul writes to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that we may discern what the will of God is—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (12:2).

The language here is striking. Scripture is concerned with the mind, not merely the accumulation of information. The renewed mind is capable of discernment and can distinguish between good and evil. Highlighting the distinction between information and formation may be the single most important contribution educators can offer in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

Christian education has never been only about transferring information. We are also in the business of forming people. So, the question “what skills will the future require?” must be paired with the question “what kind of people will the future require?” The future needs professionals competent with technological tools, but more importantly, individuals who know when to use them. Business and technology alone cannot answer these questions because they are human, moral, and ultimately theological.

The golden hour of Christian educators
Christian educators can create a space where theology and ethics engage with business and technology. These conversations should not be on the margins; they should be front and center.

Technology is transforming how people work, communicate, learn, create, exercise influence, and understand themselves. Therefore, the Christian message must be intertwined with this technological revolution. As Christians, we believe humans are valuable not because of their productivity, efficiency, intelligence, or economic usefulness. Humans have intrinsic value because they are created in the image of God. Our work matters, but our worth is not measured solely by our economic output. Our knowledge offers possibilities, but it also entails responsibility.

Character will never be obsolete.
Technology will become better and faster. Skills we value today may change or disappear altogether. New professions will emerge, while others will be transformed beyond recognition. This makes the Savior’s question especially relevant in our technological age: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Integrity will never be obsolete. Neither will wisdom, courage, generosity, discernment, humility, responsibility, or care for another human being.

We can form people who exercise judgment and practice accountability. We can teach them to seize opportunities without neglecting others. We can encourage ambition while instilling stewardship. We can cultivate excellence without letting achievement become our idol. And we can remind future generations that knowledge and accomplishments are not selfish possessions but gifts from God for the good of others.

So, what are we educating people for? We are educating them to become wise stewards of the knowledge, creativity, influence, opportunity, and technology God has placed under our stewardship. Our greatest responsibility is to invest generously in the people who will inherit what we build. Tools and technology will change, but our calling to love God and neighbor will not. The educational challenge in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) is not keeping up with the machines. It is forming humans with the wisdom, character, and discernment to decide how to use the awesome power those machines have placed in our hands.

 

Dr. Sebastian Văduva is a professor of entrepreneurship and technology at the Griffith School of Management & IT at Emanuel University of Oradea. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Technology and a senior research fellow at The Mockler Center for Faith & Ethics in the Public Square. His book, Success and Its Shadows: The Hidden Temptations Behind Every Strength—and the Character That Keeps You Whole, was published in May 2026 by High Bridge Books.