By Maureen Dowd
Publication Date: 2026-05-16 11:00:00
People could be on their way out. But at least the humanities are back.
At least that’s what some of the tech gods tell us.
After decades of dismissing the study of the arts and humanities as useless and insisting that mastery of science, technology, math, and engineering was critical to future success, the tech world is now coming around to the idea that learning human nature could be a valuable asset to the coming AI revolution.
It turns out that tech jobs may be drying up after years of many students focusing on computer science. Who has to program? AI does it for you.
What AI cannot do – yet – is what makes us human: empathy, emotions, psychology, critical thinking. “What a work is a man,” said Hamlet, describing a complex and infinite creature.
“I think AI is a false mirror,” said Drew Lichtenberg, the dramaturg at the Shakespeare Theater Company here and a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. “It reflects answers to black and white questions, but it…
