Nothing is permanent, especially in business. That includes the skill sets necessary to thrive in an industry. Auto mechanics, for instance, now need to know as much about computing integration as they do internal combustion engines. The technology sector is certainly not immune.

In a refreshing twist, the tech industry, once a haven for hyperlogical and code-wielding engineers, is undergoing a dramatic shift. Humanities degrees, long relegated to the sidelines, are experiencing a surge in demand, fueled by the very technology that threatened to make them obsolete: artificial intelligence.

This isn’t science fiction, according to veteran tech executive Amritansh Raghav. It’s a sign of the times.

From Code – Ninjas to Renaissance People

For years, the tech sector resembled an exclusive club with a single membership criterion: technical prowess. Soft skills like communication, empathy, and critical thinking were often seen as secondary. But as AI automates the rote tasks that were once a tech mainstay, a new kind of talent is in high demand: the well-rounded, humanities-equipped professional.

Amritansh Raghav argues that while strong technical skills are necessary, problem-framing — the ability to define the core issue and approach solutions creatively — is a crucial but often overlooked skill. This is where humanities graduates excel. Their training in philosophy, history, and literature hones critical thinking and fosters a nuanced understanding of the human experience — both essential for navigating the complexities of AI.

“Programming — or in general engineering — focuses heavily on breaking down a problem to find a solution,” Raghav wrote in a LinkedIn post earlier this year. “The problem framing in itself is rarely complex. Scaling a service to a billion users across the globe is not a complex problem statement — but it is a non-obvious solution. This act of taking a problem and separating it into constituent parts and solving each part to then synthesize into a whole is not just key to programming, but also all engineering.”

In other words, as artificial intelligence technology has grown and expanded, the skills needed to manage that progression have changed. And those skills are not necessarily what people who go into computer engineering or coding lean heavily into.

“It could be that [the] current juncture of AI that we are grappling with is far more about just setting the problem up correctly and the skills from a STEM education are not particularly suited for that,” Raghav continued. “Engineering to a large extent is about removing nuance. I suspect embracing nuances is more important here and the liberal arts helps with that skill.”

AI: A Double-Edged Sword

Although an overused cliche, the rise of AI is in fact a double-edged sword. While it automates tasks, it also presents a new set of challenges. AI systems are only as good as the data they’re trained on.

A Historymajor, for instance, can likely frame the challenges that occur when technological revolutions create economic inequality or lead to possible injustice preventing situations which cause social disruptionA tool is of little utility if the one wielding it can’t figure out how to use it for maximal advantage for humanity

This isn’t to say that those who’ve received their education in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields can’t perform these tasks, because some can. However, humanities graduates are uniquely positioned to tackle the ethical dilemmas of AI development. Philosophy grads, for example, can bring their training in ethics and logic to the table, ensuring AI is used responsibly.

Again, this isn’t to say that STEM skills are no longer valuable. Tech will always need its engineers and data scientists. The key takeaway is that the industry is moving beyond the binary of STEM versus humanities. The future belongs to those who can bridge the gap between the technical and the human. A well-rounded education, blending analytical and artistic thinking, is becoming a true competitive advantage.

The fear of technology replacing human jobs isn’t new. We see echoes of the Luddite movement, 19th-century English weavers who protested against mechanization in the textile industry. However, history also shows that many Luddites adapted, learning to use the new technology to their advantage. Similarly, humanities graduates don’t need to be left behind. They can leverage their unique skills to thrive in the AI-powered tech landscape.

For the time being, at least, there will be jobs for the technically inclined in the AI space. While training of the actual engine might be better served by those who can more clearly articulate and communicate needs to the engine, the base upon which the engine is built will still require a great degree of technical acumen.

AI requires enormous data centers using massive amounts of energy. Someone needs to create those networks and data centers. The components that are necessary to handle the computing power are in high demand (ask any investor in Nvidia, a graphics-card company that found new life in the AI race) and technical jobs will, for the time being, still be available to those who want them.

For those who doubted the value of a humanities degree, the message is clear: Your skills are now, as they always have been, not only relevant, but essential. The tech revolution may have begun with ones and zeros, but its future symphony will be composed of human creativity and critical thinking — the very strengths that humanities degrees cultivate. So, dust off your philosophy books and get ready to take center stage. The tech industry is waiting for you.