Ep. 127 – AI: Why Universities Need the Humanities More Than Ever

What happens to the university when students no longer need to do the work of thinking? For years, higher education has drifted away from its formative purpose toward mass-credentialing, efficiency, and scale. Artificial intelligence has already begun to accelerate that transformation—automating writing, feedback, tutoring, and more of the intellectual work students once had to (and ought to) undertake themselves. In the latest episode of the Magnus Podcast, Joshua Mazrin speaks with Dr. Lily Abadal, professor of philosophy at the University of South Florida, about AI, the modern university, and what education is actually for. They discuss why the rise of AI makes the humanities more necessary than ever; how universities can recover education as a genuinely transformative experience; and what we lose when students outsource the difficult work through which judgment, attention, intellectual independence, and a unique voice are formed. The conversation ultimately reaches beyond the university. As we increasingly outsource thinking, writing, attention, care, basic human tasks, and even elements of evangelization to technology, we have to ask whether greater efficiency is actually making us better—or merely relieving us of the activities through which we exercise our humanity. For more content like this, go to www.magnusinstitute.org and join our tuition-free Magnus Fellowship. The Magnus Podcast is a production of the Albertus Magnus Institute, restoring the liberal arts through the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty. Join the FREE Magnus Fellowship: https://magnusinstitute.org/fellowship/ Support AMI: https://magnusinstitute.org/give/ SUBSCRIBE where Podcasts are available- Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/magnus-podcast-conversations-from-the-catacombs/id1475793300 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SuJ0ZDVLrh19Vq1rg6nKK?si=d6ffd631e49b46b3 PodBean: https://magnuspodcast.podbean.com/ Fio: https://www.play.fio.fm/show/MagnusPodcast