In the age of AI, is studying the humanities more important than STEM?
Earlier this month, ABC News posted an interview with Daniela Amodei, co-CEO of Anthropic. You can find that interview here.
During the interview, Amodei explained that she believes studying the humanities will be more important than ever. She added that while AI is highly advanced in STEM fields, humans should focus on what makes us uniquely human: understanding ourselves and our history, recognizing what drives us, developing strong critical thinking skills, and maintaining the ability to meaningfully interact with others.
So if AI is good at STEM, where does that leave STEM education?
Before you start packing up your STEM classroom or changing your major, I believe there is still a place for and value in STEM education in the age of AI….with a few adjustments needed to stay relevant (but that’s for another day!).
Why STEM is Still Relevant in the Age of AI
STEM Education and Problem-Solving Skills
During the interview, Amodei says, “There's never been a worse time to be a problem. Never a better time to be a problem solver.”
While AI is a powerful tool for solving problems, it is important that students first develop a strong foundation in problem-solving skills before engaging with AI. This allows them to apply it effectively and use it as a tool rather than a crutch.
A study conducted by Rabia Ondes at Istanbul Aydın University found that “STEM practices can have a substantial positive impact on the development of students' problem-solving skills.”
Another study comparing children who received additional STEM enrichment with those who did not found that “STEM activities cause a significant difference in the problem-solving skills of 6-year-old preschool children.”
The Long Term Impact
Researchers are only beginning to explore the impact of AI on the human brain. It is still too early to fully understand the long-term effects, especially for children whose brains are still developing.
In a paper titled Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Easy Writing Tasks, researchers at MIT define cognitive debt as “a condition in which repeated reliance on external systems like LLMs replaces the effortful cognitive processes required for independent thinking.”
During the study, they found that “Self-reported ownership of essays was the lowest in the LLM group and the highest in the Brain-only group.”
More concerning, participants who used LLMs struggled to quote their own work. When it comes to education and knowledge retention, this raises serious questions about what students are actually taking away in an AI-infused classroom.
In addition, researchers found that “Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.”
Are we sacrificing our students' long-term knowledge and quality of education for the ability to use a tool that may be outdated by the time they enter the workforce in 2038?
This leads to a larger question: What is the purpose of education? Is it to provide students with the foundation, tools, and knowledge they need to make informed decisions and live high-quality lives? Or are we simply training them to operate like machines- taking in information and producing results on command?
As the researchers conclude, “These findings support an educational model that delays AI integration until learners have engaged in sufficient self-driven cognitive effort.”
Until more research is available, STEM education remains a safe and effective way to equip students with essential skills for an AI-driven world while preserving cognitive development and protecting long-term learning.
Digital Fatigue
In the age of digitization, many students report experiencing digital fatigue and screen burnout. In fact, “Children under 8 spend more than two hours a day with screen media, while older kids may log up to nine hours daily.”
STEM education provides numerous opportunities for unplugged, hands-on learning experiences. This allows students to engage meaningfully without screens, ensuring that when technology is used, it is implemented intentionally and not simply for the sake of being digital.
-
At the end of the day, I do not believe that STEM education will become futile. However, we will need to adjust how we approach STEM to ensure it remains meaningful in the AI-driven future we are not just heading toward, but already living in.
It is important for students to understand technology and learn how to use AI. But there is a time and a place for it. After attending ISTE and ASCD 2025, I was struck by how AI-focused nearly every session was. While the enthusiasm is understandable, we should not incorporate AI and technology simply for the sake of doing so, but with a clear purpose in mind.