"AI will destroy humanities jobs," Palantir CEO Alex Karp Tells World Economic Forum - The Finance Crowd Disagrees

 It makes news that at the World Economic Forum leaders' meetings at Davos Palantir CEO Alex Karp warned humanities students and recent graduates that what they're pitching for work isn't marketable. 

Okay, Karp says, you want that kind of traditional classical elite education - one which he himself had. Good, go for it. But it won't provide the skill set which opens up the paths to earning a good living. There is a chance, though, that you can still secure work. However, it won't be through that particular background. It could be, yes, despite your major area of study.

But that really isn't news, at least to those of us who did attend liberal arts colleges and majored in the humanities decades ago. That umbrella includes:

Philosophy

History

Literature

Art

Linguistics. 

It was always rough sledding to get that first job unless you went into teaching or was hired into one of those large corporations' management training programs such as at the P&G back then. 

Otherwise, the ambitious among us went on to professional schools or graduate degree programs. It was only as I was finishing up my college major in English that I, a first-generation college, was tipped off: "This isn't a terminal degree. You have to get an advanced one."

 Currently, though, that option, as I hammer here and here, provides less and less of an on-ramp to a decent-paying career. Meanwhile, it is well-known that the traditional default option - law school - eventually may be a risky investment. Both law firms Paul, Weiss and Sullivan and Cromwell sketched out some of how career paths in the legal sector will implode. Because of AI, demand will plummet for junior lawyers. Also because of AI, many practices will devalue into commodities. 

What the Palantir CEO recommends is grabbing onto a technical skill or train for a trade. 

Others at the WEF, including in finance, disagree with him. They point out that AI will take over lots of the jobs in their field and what they will be looking for is those with critical thinking skills.

However, a four-year education in the liberal arts isn't necessary to develop critical thinking. Bill Gates and Sam Altman knew how to think, without such a background.

At public high school Henry Synder in Hudson County, New Jersey in the early 1960s critical thinking skills were embedded in just about every subject in the curriculum. For example, in Miss Irving's writing-for-publication course we became adept at presenting a well-organized argument. That required well-organized thought processes. More of that kind of course work needs to be mandated in tax-payer supported high schools, along with options for learning the trades.

No surprise, more and more of my over-50 coaching clients ask if their children should attend college. My answer: That depends. On the major. On the kid. And on the risk that the positive projection for jobs in that field might sour within four years. Recall when computer science was The Ticket. Until, with the glut of talent and new technologies, it wasn't.

Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head.

Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success.

Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com). Yes, test out the chemistry. Zero risk.

Don’t give up before the miracle.

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