Machine-Age Humanities

 

College enrollment is not only declining in the U.S., but changing in substantial ways. Specifically, many fewer students are now interested in a humanities or liberal arts major, while many more are pursuing professional training in fields like health care or engineering. Record numbers of U.S. colleges are closing or dramatically cutting back their program offerings as a result. These nationwide trends relate to student concerns about employability, as well as employer demands for new hires with specific skill-based credentials rather than a broad-based undergraduate education. Badges and other micro-credentials (some offered by universities!) have emerged as a way to meet employers' and students' demands for specific content learning.

What is lost when we don't have English and history majors available as a course of study? Some experts argue that these disciplines teach critical skills like problem-solving, communication, and discourse that are necessary across society. Others suggest that the humanities are essentially "leisure" activities, interesting on their own merits but not serving an essential function in society. 

Kevin Roose's book Futureproof argues that STEM-oriented students are focused on learning the wrong skills. Instead of coding and prompt engineering, the author suggests that we all need to train ourselves in “machine-age humanities” to be successful in the brave new world that awaits us. Some of these skills include:

·      Reading the room – some audiences may require information presented with one type of emphasis, others a different one. Some may be more formal, and others less. In some rooms it may be best to lead, and in others to follow.

·      Privacy and confidentiality – it is harder to communicate when any remark might be recorded, distributed, and taken out of context. In order to have successful conversations, we would do well to increase our awareness of potential surveillance, and manage it when possible. In some situations, a face to face meeting or a phone call is much better than an email. When confidentiality is not possible or there are significant risks, we should modify our approach accordingly: If the conversation is going to be an email, write it with the expectation that it will become public at some point.

·      Leave handprints – including a personal touch that makes things unique.

·      Guarding your attention – demote your devices, seek out humans and real life, limit screen-checking as a default activity, turn off notifications

·      Curating digital content – evaluating its source and likely truthfulness, and its likely sources of bias and blond spots even when the online speaker’s intentions are good. Separating factual information from opinion, and knowing how to evaluate the provenance of any particular piece of information.

·      Analog ethics – these involve getting back to basics, like respect, fair play, politeness, sharing, and cleaning up your own mess.

·      Seeking out divergent points of view – resisting “machine drift” caused by algorithms telling you what to see and do. This also involves paying attention to context and culture, understanding that not everyone sees things the same way that you do, and attempting to see where they are coming from.

·      Consequentialism – evaluating outcomes rather that just intentions; thinking of unintended consequences.

·      Resting – being more mindful of our immediate surroundings, turning off constant sources of stimulation, and preparing ourselves to focus on whatever comes next.

·      Adapting – a small change that the algorithm has never encountered can throw AI off completely. But humans can roll with it relatively easily.

Employers also see the value of machine-age humanities. Many companies say, for instance, that they want their employees to be better at taking responsibility, functioning as a member of a team, and maintaining a positive attitude. One might see these skills as things that could be broken into bite-sized pieces, translated into online modules, and credentialed with electronic badges. However, many of these abilities have as much to do with attitude and experiences as they do with knowledge acquisition. 

In a book titled The TalkingCure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation, Drexel University honors college Dean Paula Marantz Cohen describes the type of dialogue that we would like to see in work and in life, the kind that elevates people's spirits while also generating new ideas and possibilities. The primary tool that she identifies in promoting this type of dialogue is the traditional college seminar table, a small-group format where students and a professor engage in deep inquiry of a shared text or other source material. The actual content under discussion can vary from history to language to culture, but the focus of the exercise is on the quality of reasoning and the depth of understanding that can be achieved through careful conversation. 

The humanities are by no means irrelevant to our increasingly technological and scientific society; in some ways they matter more than ever. Dr. Cohen points out that achieving good dialogue takes time and leisure, a sort of reflective consciousness that can be best achieved when one’s basic living and safety needs are already met. It is therefore in itself a sign of privilege. But it’s also the best tool that colleges and universities have for reducing conflict and helping people – students and faculty – to develop as human beings and to improve health and wellness for society. 

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