Who Gets to Shape AI? Why Higher Ed Must Ground Emerging Technology in the Humanities

June 21, 2026 - 08:31

As universities scramble to keep pace with artificial intelligence, Hunter College is charting a different path. Instead of simply teaching students how to use AI tools or code new algorithms, the institution is pushing them to ask harder questions: Who decides what this technology does? Whose values are baked into its design? And who gets left behind?

The answer, according to a growing number of educators, lies in the humanities. While many campuses focus on AI literacy as a technical skill, Hunter is treating it as a cultural and ethical challenge. Philosophy, history, and literature are not being sidelined in the rush to embrace AI. Instead, they are being placed at the center of the conversation.

The reasoning is simple. AI systems do not emerge from a vacuum. They are built by people, trained on data, and deployed within systems that reflect existing power structures. If students only learn the mechanics of machine learning, they risk becoming passive consumers of technology rather than active shapers of it. The goal, according to faculty involved in the initiative, is to produce graduates who can interrogate the assumptions behind the code.

This approach does not mean rejecting technical education. It means insisting that technical education is incomplete without critical thinking. Students are encouraged to study how algorithms have historically reinforced bias, how language models inherit cultural blind spots, and how automation reshapes labor markets in uneven ways.

The broader message is aimed at higher education itself. As institutions compete to launch AI centers and partner with tech companies, there is a risk of treating the humanities as an afterthought. Hunter's model suggests the opposite: that the humanities are not a luxury add-on but a necessary foundation. If universities fail to ground emerging technology in ethics, history, and critical inquiry, they will have missed their most important job.