Tech World Reconsiders Liberal Arts as AI Automates Coding and Exposes Human Limits
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 16
Tech World Reconsiders Liberal Arts as AI Automates Coding and Exposes Human Limits
4 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 16
After years of steering students toward STEM, parts of the tech industry are recasting liberal arts as valuable because AI can code but still struggles with empathy, emotion and critical thinking.
That shift is tied to a weaker outlook for some tech jobs after a rush into computer science, with automation raising a basic question for students: what skills remain distinctly human.
Drew Lichtenberg of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and Johns Hopkins argued AI is a “false mirror” that returns black-and-white answers but cannot explain human experience the way art and philosophy can.
His account of students gravitating to Kant, Nietzsche and Camus suggests the AI boom is reviving interest in humanities fields long dismissed as impractical.
As AI learns to mimic empathy, will the tech world's newfound respect for humanities majors last?
What is the actual return on investment for hiring a philosopher instead of another coder in the AI era?
Beyond buzzwords, how are tech firms tangibly rewarding employees for critical thinking and ethical judgment?