The Great Reversal: From Numbers to Words
For the past two centuries, we’ve lived in the age of the numeric. The hard sciences—physics, engineering, computer science—have dominated our understanding of power and progress.
This made perfect sense: understanding gravity gave us airplanes, studying biology led to medicine, mastering electricity created our connected world -- Technical expertise meant economic and social power.
However, in an era where Large Language Models can write code, design systems, and solve complex mathematical problems, the relationship between technical skill and influence is inverting. A philosophically grounded prompt engineer can now scale impact further than many traditional programmers, not because they can write better algorithms, but because they can better communicate with AI systems.
This represents what we might call the “Great Reversal”—a shift from numeric mastery to semantic fluency as the primary pathway to technological power.
The new “Semantic” elite
Historically, elite education was grounded in the humanities. Classical education emphasized rhetoric, logic, literature, and philosophy as tools for understanding and shaping human meaning.
The rise of STEM education over the past century represented a temporary deviation from this pattern, driven by the particular demands of industrial and early digital economies.
We’re now witnessing a return to form.
The ability to effectively prompt an AI, to understand its outputs, and to guide its reasoning requires precisely the skills that philosophy has always cultivated: precise language use, logical thinking, conceptual analysis, and the ability to navigate ambiguity.
The End of Technē, The Rise of Phronesis
The ancient Greeks distinguished between two types of knowledge: technē (craft knowledge for achieving specific goals) and phronesis (practical wisdom for living well). For centuries, technē has dominated our economic and educational systems.
But as “Artificial General Intelligence approaches”, we’ll have a moment when machines surpass humans at virtually every instrumental task.
The Irreplaceable Human Questions
Even the most sophisticated AI cannot answer these fundamentally personal questions:
- What constitutes a meaningful life for me, given my circumstances?
- How should I treat people around me?
- How do I balance competing moral obligations?
- What kind of person do I want to become?
These aren’t technical problems with algorithmic solutions. These are truths that must be explored, integrated and lived.
Future Scenarios: Three Possible Worlds
Some brainstorming about where this could lead, in a ‘maximal’ sense.
Scenario 1: The Philosopher-Kings (2030-2040)
In this scenario, those with deep philosophical training serve as interpreters between human values and AI capabilities, designing the prompts, frameworks, and ethical guidelines that govern increasingly autonomous systems.
Universities become philosophy-centric again, and a “new liberal arts” (a sort of “wisdom studies”) becomes the most competitive field of study.
Scenario 2: The Democratized Wisdom (2025-2035)
Here, philosophical thinking becomes widely distributed rather than concentrated among elites. AI tutors make philosophical education accessible to everyone, creating a more thoughtful and reflective society. The goal isn’t to create philosopher-kings but philosopher-citizens.
TBH, this feels very unlikely. Consider it the ‘strawman optimistic case’.
Scenario 3: The Meaning Crisis (2025-2030)
In this darker scenario, the rapid obsolescence of technical skills creates widespread existential anxiety. Without philosophical frameworks to navigate the transition, society struggles with questions of purpose and identity.
This crisis eventually drives a philosophical renaissance, but only after significant social upheaval.
In a sense, this is already in a nascent stage, with the rising rates of depression and anxiety.
A void in meaning and purpose isn’t tolerated for long; if it isn’t filled with “the right thing”, it’ll be filled with “the wrong thing”. True for people, true for nations.
The Enduring Questions
As we advance deeper into the AI age, certain philosophical questions become not just academically interesting but practically urgent:
Metaphysical: What does it mean to be human when machines can think?
Ethical: How do we maintain moral agency in a world of algorithmic decision-making?
Political: What constitutes justice when AI can predict and prevent crime?
Aesthetic: What is beautiful when machines can create art indistinguishable from human creation?
Existential: How do we find meaning when traditional sources of purpose become obsolete?
These aren’t questions that will be “solved” and then set aside. They’re the permanent human questions that each person and each generation must answer anew.
Conclusion: The Last Subject Standing
Philosophy emerges as potentially “the last subject worth studying” not because other disciplines become worthless, but because philosophy addresses the irreducibly human elements of existence that no amount of technological advancement can eliminate.
As AI handles an ever-greater share of instrumental tasks, the space for distinctly human contribution narrows to the realm of values, meaning, relationships, and wisdom.
This isn’t a romantic retreat from technological progress but a recognition of what progress actually serves: the flourishing of conscious beings capable of reflecting on their own existence.
In a world where machines can optimize almost everything, the crucial question becomes: optimize for what? And that question—the question of what constitutes a good life—has always been philosophy’s domain.
P.S. What you can do today
- Develop habits of philosophical reflection and reading
- Practice articulating complex ideas clearly and persuasively
- Cultivate comfort with ambiguity and ethical complexity
- Engage with philosophical texts and ideas regularly
- Learn to ask better questions, not just find better answers