RE: Traditional school education's role in the AI age?

"patience, grit, attention, problem-solving"

Totally!

But then you are talking to a high school dropout. I did get m high school diploma when I was about 20 but after missing almost 4 years of high school it was extremely tough.

Yeah, it's easier to take the bait of getting out of doing the work, but when it comes down to it, and you don't have a device at your fingertips, what are you worth and what are your values?