Digital Mindset Efficacy for Human-AI Career Readiness

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This article develops digital mindset efficacy as a key capability for human-AI career readiness. It argues that success in AI-shaped workplaces requires not only technical tool use but also the confidence and capacity to learn with, evaluate, collaborate with, and responsibly govern digital and AI systems. Drawing on digital mindset, digital intelligence, AI proficiency, self-efficacy, and life-skills literature, the article proposes a theory-based model linking digital mindset efficacy to AI proficiency and life skills through mastery experience, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and affective regulation. It illustrates the model through a General Education course, Leadership for Global Challenges: Exploring the Digital Mindset, and the story-driven manuscript Digital Apprentice, which uses Sarah’s hero’s journey to model resilience, ethical awareness, communication, and responsible AI adoption. The article offers a framework for preparing future-ready professionals who can collaborate with AI while preserving human judgment and accountability.