[Insight & Opinion] In the AI Era, Competitiveness Lies in Humanities-Based Human Capabilities

AI Skills Alone Are Not Enough
Humanities Literacy Becomes More Important
Preparation Requires a Long-Term Perspective

"The best profession in the 2030s will be a poet."

This is a famous quote by John Naisbitt, author of the 1982 book Megatrends, made at the end of the 20th century. In his book, Naisbitt also predicted that the 21st century would be defined by the 3Fs: Female, Feeling, and Fiction, representing femininity, emotion, and imagination as the new zeitgeist.

Many have said that such humanities-based literacy will become important in the future, but that dream has yet to be realized. On the contrary, our society resonates with self-deprecating satire such as "Munsonghamnida" (Sorry for being in the liberal arts) and "Umummal" (My mom told me not to go into liberal arts). Meanwhile, the digital age has passed, and the full-fledged era of artificial intelligence (AI) has begun.

In the AI era, AI utilization capabilities are naturally necessary. Just as literacy was essential in the 20th century, AI literacy is becoming the new foundational literacy of the 21st century. Moreover, desirable AI utilization capabilities do not simply mean skills to use AI technology. One must possess broad AI utilization capabilities that include not only the use of AI technology but also questioning ability, critical thinking, and creativity. However, even these broad AI utilization capabilities represent only half of what the AI era demands; the other half is the humanities-based human capabilities. Let us consider why.

First, AI is surpassing human abilities in almost every field. Discussions about which jobs are safe from AI are no longer meaningful. AI will perform better than humans in nearly all labor activities that people have carried out so far. A fundamental transformation of human jobs and roles is expected. Thanks to AI technology, reflection and discussion on human identity, the meaning of life, and humanity will occur more actively and seriously than at any time in thousands of years of human history. This is why humanities literacy is becoming important.

Second, the entry barriers to technology utilization are continuously lowering. While the level and power of technology are increasing, the methods to utilize technology are becoming easier. This is evident from the technological progression from landline phones, computers, and the internet to smartphones. As AI technology spreads further, the barriers to technology utilization and expertise are expected to decrease even more. Anyone will be able to enjoy the benefits of remarkable expertise and technology with very simple actions, conversations, and questions.

In such times, the need and value of humanities capabilities inevitably increase in contrast. This is because their relative scarcity compared to technology is growing. As the AI era advances, the true decisive difference is expected to come from differences in humanities literacy. However, humanities capabilities are not developed overnight. Like aged wine or a skilled artisan, they require steady effort and accumulated time. This is why continuous time investment is necessary to develop humanities-based human capabilities alongside efforts to cultivate AI utilization capabilities. Humanities capabilities are the most important, though not urgent, competencies to competently navigate the unprecedented AI era.

Like the story of the wolf boy, humanities literacy has always been emphasized as important but has been consistently neglected in reality. I believe that meeting the AI era will finally allow it to bloom fully. If we invest more time in developing humanities capabilities with a long-term perspective, it will be the best preparation to respond to the raging AI storm and live a human-centered, happy AI era.

Kim Hyungon, Invited Professor, Graduate School of National Policy, Chungnam National University · Former Director, National Assembly Future Research Institute