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Everyone laughed at philosophy degrees. Then AI arrived

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31.07.2026

"What the hell will you do with a philosophy degree?"

Is a question I heard whilst studying English and Philosophy, usually accompanied by a joke about unemployment or working as a barista for the rest of my life.

But the rise of AI has done something unexpected: it has made philosophy useful again.

As machines grow better at producing information, the challenge facing humanity is no longer how to find answers. It is how to judge which answers are worth believing.

When most people think of philosophy, they picture Plato and Aristotle: ancient Greeks sitting around debating abstract questions. While philosophy is rooted in that tradition, it is much more than an isolated academic exercise.

At its core, philosophy teaches us how to think critically, evaluate evidence, recognise flawed reasoning, and question the assumptions that shape our understanding of the world.

These skills are becoming increasingly valuable; I would argue essential today. As AI systems generate information at unprecedented speed, the challenge is no longer simply accessing knowledge; it is determining what is true and reliable.

This shift has not gone unnoticed.

Major AI firms are increasingly employing philosophers to help address questions surrounding bias, accountability, privacy, and the social consequences of emerging technologies.

The development of AI is not only a technical challenge. It is a moral and philosophical one.

When you think of AI, you probably think of engineering and computer science due to the coding involved. But these computational processes have ethical consequences, which........

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