Artificial intelligence needs humanists Philosophers, linguists and historians can help make AI more human

The debate around artificial intelligence is often riddled with questions about how dangerous these technologies are for humans, when they will take our jobs, and how much our lives have changed and will continue to change in the future. But increasingly, a much more human and natural question is emerging: how should we coexist with this technology? To answer this, we are increasingly relying on professionals who seemingly lack STEM expertise and instead come from the humanities. The humanities, often seen as weak or even “useless” in the job market, are now rediscovering their fundamental importance thanks to AI. And it’s not just nostalgic academics defending their turf who are saying this, but also industry professionals like Steven Johnson, editorial director of Google Labs' NotebookLM, who told Business Insider that humanities skills are “more valuable than ever” in AI development. The reason lies in the fact that these technologies interact with people, cultures, and values, and therefore require someone who can ask the right and complex questions to interpret context and, as a result, teach the right things to the machine. Amanda Askell, a philosopher working on fine-tuning at generative startup Anthropic, reflects on her role regarding Claude (Anthropic’s chatbot competitor to ChatGPT) and, in an interview with Time, admits that it was precisely thanks to her philosophical background that she managed to make the chatbot more friendly, curious, and creative.

Askell worked more on questions and human language than on technical programming, aiming to help Claude acknowledge uncertainty, question itself, and clarify that it does not possess feelings, memory, or self-awareness. This way, users can engage in more conscious and critical interactions with AI. It’s the paradox of our time: for AI to function properly, it needs people who can intellectually challenge these new technologies, those who know how to question and those who can’t – or won’t – fully imitate. In other words, philosophers, writers, and humanities scholars. In fact, even the job market, which is increasingly leaning toward tech skills in the AI field, is now witnessing a comeback of the humanities. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by the end of 2025, some of the most in-demand skills globally will include analytical thinking, innovation, complex problem-solving, and creativity. All of these are strongly tied to the humanities and social sciences because such studies cultivate the critical thinking needed to tackle technological challenges. Fabio Costantini, CEO of Randstad HR Solutions, shares this view. In an article published in Il Sole 24 Ore, he states that “artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way we work, live, and make decisions. But [...] it risks diminishing humans’ ability to develop critical and creative skills. [...] The humanities are essential to overcoming AI’s limitations.” Only critical thinking can identify hidden biases, design inclusive interfaces, and imagine scenarios beyond pure efficiency. In this context, we are seeing the emergence of an unusual alliance between AI and humanists, even in academia and research. Machine learning tools are enabling historians to analyze thousands of documents, archaeologists to reconstruct lost sites, and linguists to explore language shifts in real time.