The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) was was founded in 1950 a response to “a new era arising from social unrest and the tragedies of war,” as it has been expressed 1949 Lewis Committee Report.
The report’s findings underscored MIT’s role and responsibility in the new nuclear age, which required a doubling down on the true “integration” of scientific and technical topics with humane scholarship and teaching. Only in that way, the committee wrote, could MIT address “the difficult and complex issues facing our generation.”
As SHASS celebrates its 75th anniversary, Dean Agustín Rayo answers questions about why the need to develop students with a broad mind and human understanding is more urgent than ever, given the pressing challenges during the new technological revolution.
Question: Many universities are responding to artificial intelligence by introducing new technology programs or revising their curriculum. He suggested that the change is deeper than that. Why?
A: Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing the way students learn – it’s changing every aspect of society. The labor market is facing a major change, which raises the general criteria for financial stability. And AI is changing the ways we bring meaning to our lives: the ways we build relationships, the ways we pay attention, and the things we enjoy doing.
The bottom line is that the most important question universities need to ask is not how to adapt our teaching to AI – although we certainly need to address that. The most important question we need to ask is how to provide education that delivers real value to students in the age of AI.
We need to ensure that universities provide students with the tools they need to find a path to financial security and build meaningful lives.
We need to produce students with a soft and broad mind. We need our students to not only be able to perform tasks effectively, but also to have the judgment to decide which tasks should be done. We need students who have a moral compass, and who understand how the world works, in all its political, economic, and human complexities. We need students who can think critically, and have excellent communication and leadership skills.
Question: What role do the humanities, arts, and social sciences play in preparing MIT students for that future?
A: They’re important, and they’re an integral part of an MIT education: MIT has long required its undergraduates to take at least eight courses in HASS fields to graduate.
Fields such as philosophy, political science, economics, literature, history, music, and anthropology are critical to developing parts of our lives that are truly human — parts that cannot be replaced by AI.
They are important for developing critical thinking and a moral compass. They are essential to understanding people – our values, institutions, traditions, and ways of thinking. They are important in creating smart students who understand how the world works. They are important in developing students who have excellent communication skills and are able to describe their projects – and their lives – in a way that makes them meaningful.
Our students understand this. Here’s how one of them put it: “Engineering gives me the tools to measure the world; human societies teach me how to describe it. That measurement has shaped both how I do science and why I do it.” (Full discussion here.)
Question: Some people worry that an emphasis on the humanities would reduce MIT’s technological edge. How do you respond to those concerns?
A: I think the opposite is true.
MIT is an important engine of social mobility in the United States, and a catalyst for entrepreneurship, adding billions of dollars to the American economy. That cannot be separated from the fact that we are a technology center, bringing together the nation’s most talented students—regardless of socioeconomic background—and transforming them into the next generation of our nation’s top leaders in science and engineering.
MIT plays a very important role in our country. So, the last thing I want to do is mess up our secret sauce.
But I also think that the age of AI is forcing us to rethink what it means to be a top engineer.
Consider artificial intelligence itself. The challenges we face are not just artistic. Issues such as bias, accountability, governance, and the social impact of automation are less important. Understanding those dimensions helps professionals design better systems and anticipate real-world results.
Strengthening humanity at MIT is not a departure from our core mission – it’s a way to ensure that our technological leadership continues to matter to the world.
Question: What kinds of changes is MIT SHASS pursuing to support this idea?
A: There’s a lot going on!
We launched the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC) as a way to strengthen research in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, and to deepen collaboration with colleagues across MIT.
We shape the undergraduate experience to ensure that every MIT student engages with the big societal questions shaping our time, from strengthening democracy to climate change to the ethics of new technologies.
We are building strong connections through initiatives such as creating shared faculty positions with the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing (SCC). We also recently launched a new Music Technology and Computation Graduate program with the School of Engineering.
We are working with SERC (SCC’s Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing) to design new classes at the intersection of computing and human-centered issues, such as ethics.
And we elevate humanity – for their sake, and as a place of experimentation, we bring together students, faculty, and colleagues to explore new forms of research, teaching, and public engagement.
This is a very exciting time for SHASS.
