As one student said to his professor at New York University, in an effort to justify using AI to do his work for him, “You’re asking me to go from point A to point B, why wouldn’t I use a car to get there?” It’s a completely logical argument — as long as you accept the utilitarian vision.
The real solution, then, is to be honest about what the humanities are for: You’re in the business of helping students with the cultivation of their character.
I know, I know: Lots of students will say, “I don’t have time to work on cultivating my character! I just need to be able to get a job!”
It’s totally fair for them to be focusing on their job prospects. But your job is to focus on something else — something that will help them flourish in the long run, even if they don’t fully see the value in it now.
