Beyond Budget headlines: AI, Education and Gibraltar’s Economic Future

By Professor Daniella Tilbury

Recently, as I listened to the Gibraltar Parliament debate the Budget, one message came through loud and clear: artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer something on the horizon. Ministers referred to it repeatedly, not as a distant possibility but as a force already reshaping government, education and the economy. As I write, I am preparing to travel to Geneva for the ITU AI for Good Global Summit, where governments, industry and researchers will gather to ask one of the defining questions of our age: how do we ensure AI serves humanity rather than simply accelerates technological change?

Much of the public debate still centres on whether AI will replace people. It is an important question, but international evidence suggests it is not the right one. The more pressing issue is whether people are developing the capabilities to work alongside AI in ways that strengthen our economies, our communities and our democracies.

The recently published OECD report Skills in the AI Age (July 2026) is a timely reminder that AI is not simply another technological innovation. Like electricity or the internet before it, it is a general-purpose technology capable of transforming every sector of society. However, technology alone has never transformed societies; people using the technology do.

The report also corrects a misunderstanding I hear repeated on both sides of this debate: the occupations most exposed to AI (IT professionals, managers, business professionals and engineers) are not the same as those most at risk of automation. It is routine, low- and middle-skill work in construction, farming and transport that faces the greatest automation risk, while non-routine, cognitively demanding work tends to be complemented by AI rather than replaced.

For Gibraltar's financial services and professional sectors, that finding should be read as a reason to embrace AI with confidence, not as a reason for caution. But it carries a warning too: almost a quarter of workers across OECD countries were already exposed to generative AI in 2022–2024, and that share is set to grow substantially. Exposure without preparation is a risk in itself.

AI adoption among OECD businesses has nearly tripled in four years, from around 7% to 20% between 2021 and 2025, driven largely by generative tools. Yet the report's central finding is blunt: the binding constraint on unlocking AI's benefits is not the technology itself, but the shortage of people equipped with the knowledge, judgement and confidence to use it well.

Digital skills alone will not close that gap. Foundational literacy, numeracy and scientific understanding remain essential, but it is the complementary skills such as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, ethical reasoning and the willingness to keep learning that determine whether people and organisations actually benefit from AI rather than being overtaken by it. These are not 'soft skills'; they are becoming the hardest skills to replace.

For Gibraltar, this is both an opportunity and a responsibility. Having attended a series of local AI-focused events, it is clear our SMEs face the same barriers the OECD identifies everywhere: cost, infrastructure and, above all, a shortage of the skills needed to adopt AI with confidence. Many medium-sized organisations not yet using generative AI cite a lack of skills as the reason. As a small, agile jurisdiction with an internationally exposed financial services sector, Gibraltar cannot out-spend larger economies on AI infrastructure, but it can out-learn them. That means embedding AI literacy into education and training now, not once the technology has settled; supporting smaller businesses to adopt AI responsibly rather than defensively; and building the governance capacity our public sector will need as AI becomes embedded in decision-making.

The OECD and the European Commission are already developing a shared AI literacy framework that will inform the first assessment of AI literacy in national school exam scores in 2029.

Gibraltar's schools and the College should not be spectators in that process. Our education offer must be guided by a locally developed AI strategy that reflects Gibraltar's needs and ambitions. The UK has already placed AI skills and responsible AI use at the heart of its education agenda through national guidance and its AI Opportunities Action Plan. Gibraltar needs to develop its own AI education strategy; one that reflects our economy, our education system and our ambitions for the future.

One figure should concentrate minds in Gibraltar as much as it does in Geneva. Workers with advanced AI skills (such as machine learning, data science and AI engineering) still account for barely 1% of the OECD workforce, despite that proportion having almost tripled in less than a decade. Demand is so intense that countries are actively competing for this scarce talent, with Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland and Germany among the biggest net gainers. In Gibraltar we need to create far more opportunities, both within and beyond formal education, for young people and early-career professionals to develop digital capabilities. This means going beyond coding to include cybersecurity, data management, machine learning, AI systems, digital ethics and the critical thinking required to question, evaluate and use AI responsibly. Gibraltar could learn much from initiatives such as Ireland's AI Dream Space and Belgium's Futures Lab.

None of this can be separated from questions of equity, trust and sustainability. AI will increasingly shape how we respond to climate change, resource management, biodiversity loss and public health. At the same time, we must recognise that AI itself carries a growing environmental footprint through its energy consumption, water use and demand for digital infrastructure. Sustainability must shape not only how we use AI, but also how it is designed, deployed and governed. Gibraltar's digital transition must also be a sustainable transition. The two cannot be pursued as separate agendas.

As discussions continue this week at the UN-convened meetings in Geneva, I hope Gibraltar looks beyond the headlines about robots, automation and even the repeated references to AI in this week's Parliamentary debate. The real conversation is not about machines; it is about skills, sustainability and strategy.

That has been the central argument of this article. AI is fundamentally a skills agenda rather than simply a technology agenda. The question now is whether the Government's Budget provides the investment, governance and long-term strategy needed to deliver on AI. That is a question worth reflecting on, because the choices we make today will shape Gibraltar's economic resilience and competitiveness for years to come.

To end, a final reflection: AI may transform our world, but only human judgement, values and our willingness to keep learning can decide whether it transforms Gibraltar for the better.

Professor Daniella Tilbury is a Gibraltarian and the UK Government Focal Point to the UNECE. She is an invited expert at the ITU AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, and Chair of the International Committee on AI, Technology and Sustainability. She advises the European Commission on artificial intelligence, education and the digital and green transitions. Formerly Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gibraltar and HMGoG Commissioner for Sustainable Development, she is currently a Fellow of St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge.