The Humanities and Technology

With the prominence of technology in society, it is easy to think that there is no place for dealing with the human side of issues. Actually, since technology is utilized by humans, it is impossible to focus only on developing technology without thinking of the needs of those who will use it.

Berridge, Eric, director. Why Tech Needs the Humanities. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, Dec 2017. Accessed 29 June 2018.
Berridge recounts a story about how his friend who had a background in the humanities managed to turn around a project for a software consulting firm. From that point forward, Berridge understood that to have success, tech and humanities should merge. Both bring different sets of skills forward and so the push for STEM only is detrimental.

Florentine, Sharon. “Why Liberal Arts Degrees Are Valuable in Tech.” CIO, 2 May 2018. Accessed 29 June 2018.
Technology like AI’s involve human aspects that liberal arts majors provide in the creation process. It is best to have a mix of both worlds rather than one only.

Olejarz, JM. “Liberal Arts Majors Are the Future of the Tech Industry.” Harvard Business Review, July 2017. Accessed 7 July 2018.Jobs within the technology field require the type of thinking that the humanities provide. Critical thinking and empathy are crucial for keeping the tech industry going.

Segran, Elizabeth. “Why Top Tech CEOs Want Employees with Liberal Arts Degrees.” Fast Company, 28 Aug 2014. Accessed 7 July 2018.A liberal arts education fosters viewing a problem from many different angles rather than attempting to solve an issue with only one answer. Most CEOs have humanities degrees, but it is ideal for humanities students to have some technological training.

Schifeling, Jeremy. “The Surprising Reason Why Liberal Arts Majors Make the Best Techies.” TopMBA, 5 Jan 2016. Accessed 7 July 2018.
This article highlights the famous innovators of tech companies that actually studied the liberal arts. Their companies flourished because they incorporated human elements learned from their studies.

Strauss, Valerie. “Analysis | The Surprising Thing Google Learned about Its Employees – and What It Means for Today’s Students.” The Washington Post, 20 Dec 2017. Accessed 29 June 2018.
Google discovers that its successful employees possessed “soft skills” rather than just technological skill. Such skills can make for success in any field.