Despite recent hiccups and doomsday warnings, AI will continue to develop and become part of our everyday lives in much the same way that the internet has since the dotcom bubble burst over 20 years ago. Fears that widespread use of AI will make many job functions obsolete are well founded, but it will also create many opportunities for people skilled in its operation, especially those who can clearly communicate instructions and break down ideas into text. These skills are more than AI literacy, they are skills that we acquire through reading, listening, writing, and speaking—advanced literacy skills.
We need to recognize what AI is good at and what makes it work best for us—how it can automate mundane tasks and streamline processes, but not replace perspective or lateral or critical thought.
AI won’t replace communication or critical thinking, but it is replacing many entry-level jobs.
To make the most of AI, language and critical thinking are prerequisites
To make the most of AI, language and critical thinking are prerequisites. You can’t construct prompts to give AI instructions without using precise language. Nor can you check output without careful and critical review. So, if we are to provide our next generation of AI natives with the skills they need for success, we should focus on developing advanced literacy in middle and high school and then increase our attention on humanities like English, World Languages, Linguistics, and Philosophy.
Courses combining AI and philosophy are surging in popularity in China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, driven by the demand from employers for graduates who can understand and use generative technologies as well as critically evaluate them.
In France, philosophy is strictly compulsory for all students in their final year (Terminale) across general academic tracks, and university applicants must take a philosophy exam to pass the baccalauréat.
Just a few weeks ago, The Economist reported that AI companies are hiring philosophers in large numbers, as philosophy plays a key role in improving the reasoning ability, safety, and ethical judgment of AI models. According to data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this year, the unemployment rate for computer science majors in the US was 7% as of 2024, but for philosophy majors it stood at just 5.1%.
This is not to say that all students need to focus on philosophy. Studying language and literature is another, more practical, route to acquiring many of the same valuable skills—comprehension, reasoning, argument, and communication.
While we must continue to focus on helping ALL children achieve basic literacy in the early grades, we also need to recognize the importance of developing ALL students’ literacy skills as they advance through their schooling and make the most of their linguistic assets.
To work effectively with the latest technological tools in their learning and their work, today’s students need to articulate complex ideas, concepts, and functions; understand detail and nuance; and produce output that speaks to our increasingly multilingual and multicultural society. Our educational policymakers need to react to a world where AI is the ubiquitous tool by encouraging students developing their communication and literacy skills throughout their elementary, high school, college, and work careers.
Daniel Ward
