As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes how we work, learn, and create, it is also raising new questions about the skills students will need to thrive in the future. While much of the conversation centers on technical expertise, many researchers and educators point to the enduring value of the humanities, fields grounded in critical thinking, communication, and ethical reflection, as an essential part of preparing students to navigate an AI-driven world.
This New World
At John Carroll University, faculty across disciplines are helping students understand that technology alone is not enough. To use AI effectively and responsibly, students need the same skills the humanities have long cultivated: critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and clear communication.
Catherine Campbell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at John Carroll University, says preparing students for an AI-driven world requires both technological fluency and the intellectual habits fostered by the humanities.
“In the face of an uncertain AI-enabled industry landscape, we must ensure students are engaging with technology tools to learn their capacity, limits, and related ethics,” Campbell says. “We must also prioritize the traits machines cannot easily replicate: cognitive flexibility, broad intellectual synthesis, and critical thinking. The value of a humanities-based perspective has transitioned from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a modern necessity.”
Philosophy offers a unique lens on many of these questions. Dr. Simon Fitzpatrick, associate professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at John Carroll, notes that issues currently dominating public discussions about AI—such as consciousness, ethics, human-AI relationships, and the technology’s broader societal impacts—have long been explored in philosophical inquiry.
“The first academic publication on AI,” Fitzpatrick explains, “‘Computing Machinery and Intelligence’ by Alan Turing, appeared in a philosophy journal in 1950, and many key concepts in AI research have grown out of ideas from philosophy. Anyone who wants to gain an informed perspective on AI can benefit greatly from studying philosophy and learning what philosophers past and present have said about the mind, consciousness, and ethics.”
In response, John Carroll’s Philosophy Department has developed courses such as Philosophy of AI and Ethics of AI. The department also played a central role in designing the university’s new AI minor, ensuring students can explore philosophical questions alongside technical and practical ones. As Fitzpatrick puts it, “The humanities, and philosophy in particular, have a lot to offer people trying to understand and navigate this new world we find ourselves in.”
Framework of Intent
One of the most discussed skills in today’s AI landscape is “prompt engineering,” the ability to ask AI systems questions in ways that produce useful results. According to Thomas Pace, associate professor of English and director of First-Year Writing at John Carroll, the term can be misleading.
“We often talk about prompt engineering as a technical skill,” Pace says. “But it is actually less about engineering and more about the humanities. Prompting is the art of using logic, rhetoric, and clear language to get a desired result.”
Students in Pace’s classrooms put this idea into practice. In his First-Year Writing course and in Art and Scope of the Beatles, he treats prompt engineering not as a shortcut to finished work but as a tool for deeper inquiry. “If AI provides the raw computational power,” Pace explains, “the humanities provide the framework of intent, ensuring these tools sharpen human thought rather than bypass it.”
This approach shapes how students interact with AI. Rather than treating it as a “vending machine” that delivers instant answers, they engage in a process of critical, iterative questioning. In First-Year Writing, AI functions like a Socratic tutor, prompting students to challenge their thesis or identify gaps in their reasoning. In his Beatles course, students focus on verifying and testing AI-generated information. Using a method Pace calls “subject-authority prompting,” they compare AI claims against library resources and scholarly materials. For example, when studying the 1966 album Revolver, students confirm historical details such as specific studio techniques. By requiring AI to align with documented history, they learn to audit and correct machine-generated responses.
These exercises demonstrate that expertise still matters. While AI can produce convincing answers, it cannot replace the human ability to synthesize knowledge, interpret context, or apply ethical judgment. These uniquely human abilities remain at the heart of the humanities.
The importance of these skills is gaining recognition beyond academia. Famed journalist Chuck Todd, recently announced as JCU’s 2026 undergraduate commencement speaker, has suggested that the rise of artificial intelligence may actually increase the value of a classical liberal arts education.
“In the age of AI,” Todd said, “the importance of a classical education is actually going to be greater—because you're teaching critical thinking and creativity. That’s something you can’t get from a prompt.”
For Pace, the message is clear: the humanities play a crucial role in shaping how AI will be used in the future.
“They ensure we put the human in AI,” he says. “The real value is not in generating fast answers; it is in knowing how to ask the right questions.”
