Humanities In The AI Era
As AI writes essays, generates code, and automates jobs, a hard question follows: why should anyone still study history, literature, or philosophy? The answer, debated by experts at Parul University’s Manthan 2026, is that the humanities may matter more than ever, because they teach us not just what we can do, but what we should.
How is Humanities Staying Relevant in AI Era
Humanities was seen as the last option and it still has to prove itself. In the artificial intelligence era subjects like fine arts, literature, history and philosophy might feel like a luxury. Some education systems are already cutting them to focus on technology. But at Parul University’s Manthan 2026, a debate between two thoughtful experts made a compelling case for the opposite view. Here is that case.
The Difference Between “Can” and “Should”
The clearest argument came from Dr. Vishal Bhadani, who drew a sharp line between the questions science asks and the questions the humanities ask. Science asks the mechanical question: can a machine do this, can a robot replace a teacher, can an algorithm write a novel? The humanities ask the harder, human question: should it? Just because something is possible does not make it wise or good, and deciding the difference requires exactly the ethical and reflective thinking the humanities cultivate. In an age when we can do almost anything with technology, the ability to ask whether we should has never mattered more.
The Power of the Pause
Dr. Bhadani distilled the value of the humanities into a single word: a “pause.” In a world obsessed with speed, efficiency, and constant acceleration, the humanities teach us when and where to stop, to reflect before acting. He captured the danger of pure efficiency with a memorable line: “Sometimes the operation is successful, but the patient dies.” In other words, optimising everything for convenience can quietly strip away what makes an experience human. A world that only ever moves faster needs people trained to pause and ask what is being lost.
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Knowing Ourselves in a World of Distraction
One of the debate’s most striking moments came when Dr. Bhadani asked the audience a simple question: does anyone know exactly how many clothes hang in their wardrobe at home? The room fell silent. His point was gentle but sharp: we spend enormous energy peering into other people’s curated online lives, yet often fail to understand our own. The humanities, by teaching reflection and self-awareness, offer an antidote to a culture of distraction, and a way back to genuine human connection, which no feed can replace.
The Attention Economy, and the Question of Choice
Ms. Devarshee Pandya brought a pragmatic, corporate perspective, and a crucial insight: understanding how technology is designed is the first step to using it wisely. Social-media platforms, she noted, are built to capture attention, and much of their value lies not in the content we scroll but in the behavioural data we generate while scrolling. Yet she pushed back firmly against fatalism. Human beings, she argued, do have a choice: after work, she chooses to read a physical book or talk with family rather than reach for her phone. The lesson is empowering, awareness plus intention lets us reclaim control from the pull of endless scrolling.
Working With AI, Not Against It
Neither expert argued for rejecting technology. The path forward, Dr. Bhadani suggested, is “co-intelligence”: learning to work alongside AI through lateral, creative thinking, so that we remain relevant as it advances. The humanities are central to this, because the uniquely human capacities they develop, ethical judgement, critical thinking, empathy, storytelling, communication, are precisely the ones AI cannot easily replicate, and the ones that will remain most valuable in an automated world.
A World of Machines, or of Humans?
Today, technology has taken over most of the spaces. Humans are required, but most of the jobs are at risk. Towards the end of the session, the debate ended on a note of caution. It was supported by an international guest at the event. It was a warning that a society teaches technology and leaves humanities.
The risks producing people who know how everything works but have lost sight of why any of it matters. History, literature, and philosophy are not obstacles to progress; they are what give progress direction and meaning. As AI grows more capable, the case for the humanities grows stronger, because in the end, the most important questions, about meaning, ethics, and how to live, are ones only humans can answer. That is exactly why a liberal-arts education remains not a relic, but a necessity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is humanities still relevant in the AI era?
Yes, it is still relevant in the AI era. We can see that AI can make almost anything possible. With humanities we get an insight about ethical judgement, critical thinking, self-awareness, and empathy. These things are required to answer the question ‘whether we can do something’ and ‘whether we should’. This is mostly human capability and not AI.
What is the difference between how science and humanities approach AI?
As framed in the Parul University debate, science tends to ask the mechanical question, “Can a machine do this?”, while the humanities ask the ethical one, “Should it?” Both matter, but in a world where technology can do more and more, the humanities’ focus on wisdom, values, and consequences becomes increasingly important.
Will AI make humanities degrees useless?
The opposite may be true. The skills the humanities develop, ethical reasoning, critical and creative thinking, communication, empathy, and self-awareness, are among the hardest for AI to replicate and the most valuable in an automated world. Rather than replacing the humanities, the rise of AI arguably makes them more essential.
