A FEW years ago, as the story goes, it was nearly curtains for the philosophy department at Lahore’s iconic Government College. Thankfully, the college relented, perhaps because Allama Iqbal had once studied philosophy there. Other departments haven’t been so lucky in the wider English-speaking world, where many have faced cuts or closure. In this age of speed, money and results, philosophy appears impractical. If your car breaks down, Socrates won’t fix it. Predictably, college students — and their parents — see philosophy as irrelevant, especially as it lacks ‘scope’ or employability.

Ironically, philosophers are suddenly in high demand at leading AI firms. This isn’t because techies desire to answer humanity’s big questions. Rather, Silicon Valley’s newfound penchant for philosophers has ominous, if not sinister, motives. AI firms are racing to develop artificial superintelligence — AI that vastly exceeds human capabilities in all domains. To that end, philosophers now help AI firms ponder metaphysical questions: does AI have character, and if not, how can it be developed? Do chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude suffer or can they be harmed?

At this breakneck speed, a superintelligent model may not be........

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