Reed Hastings says AI revolution will shift focus back to humanities over STEM fields

Reed Hastings says AI will drive a return back to humanities: 'I'd be doubling down on emotional skills' | Fortune

Reed Hastings, the cofounder, former CEO, and now chairman of the board at Netflix, studied AI and computer science back in the 1980s. Decades later, he thinks today's AI revolution could bring back an emphasis on the humanities as a field of study. After graduating with a degree in Math from Maine's Bowdoin College, Hastings pursued a Master of Science degree in computer science and artificial intelligence at Stanford. The the earlier AI revolution he was a part of didn't pan out, but the current AI wave shows signs of completely upheaving the labor force as we know it, and it may even transform education, he said on an episode of the Possible podcast last week. Hastings chose STEM for his own graduate degree, but he said AI will shift what universities prioritize in the future. "STEM practically took over Stanford University," said Hastings. "Now maybe what we'll see is a rotation, you know, back to the humanities and to understanding [the] combination of history and literature." "If I had a three-year-old today, I would be doubling down on the emotional skills," he added. Hastings' comments come as AI has upended the job market for computer science graduates early in their careers. The share of tech job postings open to people with two to four years experience dropped to 40% in mid-2025 from 46% in mid-2022, according to data from jobs website Indeed. Boris Cherny, the creator of Anthropic's Claude Code predicted in February that the title of "software engineer" may even go extinct by the end of the year as AI tools give all employees the ability to write code. Hastings, for his part, is skeptical AI will replace human software engineers entirely. "There's a substantial chance that while many companies will have reduced software engineering employment, there'll be many other opportunities for more software," he said on the podcast. Still, Hastings has put his own money behind the idea that humanities will matter more in the years ahead. Last year, the Netflix cofounder donated $50 million to his alma mater Bowdoin College to establish the Hastings Initiative for AI and Humanity. The funding will help Bowdoin hire 10 new faculty members, and fund research on AI's impact on society. "Our goal is to prepare the next generation of leaders to engage responsibly with the opportunities and challenges presented by AI," says Bowdoin's website for the initiative. While Hastings foresees sweeping changes in education and work, he is more optimistic than ever about the future and the role that AI will play in improving the world. "The next 20 years will be super exciting and I think it will usher in this era of abundance," he said.

Netflix Cofounder Predicts That This Unexpected Field Will Experience a Resurgence in the Age of AI

If he were raising a young child today, he said he would "double down on emotional skills" rather than pushing coding. Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings says chasing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields is "overdone" and urges students to refocus on studying the humanities instead. On the Possible podcast earlier this month, Hastings said that in an AI-driven era, emotional pursuits like entertainment, art and sports will stand out as AI-proof. "You're not going to watch a basketball game of robots," he said on the podcast. Hastings argued that AI will advance fastest in areas built on structured problem-solving, like software engineering and medicine. He suggested that tasks involving writing code and analyzing data are especially well-suited for AI, which can process large amounts of information and identify patterns. "The kinds of things that you do with a biology background will be done so much better and faster by AI that it'll be hard to compete for jobs in that space," he said. He added that for the past two decades, society has pushed the importance of STEM and teaching everyone how to code. Now, he predicts that people will start to realize that STEM has become saturated and "overdone" as AI takes over tasks. "I think that as everyone sees that coding is overdone, my guess is we'll see that STEM is overdone," he said. Hastings predicted that as AI takes over STEM fields, students will turn back to the humanities. "And now maybe what we'll see is a rotation back to the humanities, into understanding the combination of history and literature, but also kind of the physiology of the brain and how we interact with each other," Hastings said. "If I had a three-year-old today, I would be doubling down on the emotional skills." Emotional skills include reading people and working with them, according to Hastings. He said these skills are "quite valuable" because they are much harder for computers to replicate. Anthropic cofounder Jack Clark, a former journalist who received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, said earlier this month at Semafor's World Economy Summit that his degree was "extremely relevant for AI." "What turned out to be useful is that I got to learn a lot about history and a lot about the kind of stories that we tell ourselves about the future," Clark said. "That's turned out to be extremely relevant for AI in a way that I think people wouldn't have predicted." Clark said that degrees that seem ill-suited to the AI era can still be valuable, noting that Anthropic even hires philosophy majors. He added that if he were choosing a major today, he would steer clear of "rote programming," because AI is increasingly capable of handling that task. Another Anthropic cofounder, Daniela Amodei, also majored in English Literature as an undergrad. Amodei, who received her degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, told ABC News in February that she has "zero regrets" about skipping technical coursework. "In a world where AI is very smart and capable of doing so many things, the things that make us human will become much more important," Amodei told the outlet.

Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings Says STEM Is 'Overdone' As AI Reshapes Jobs, Urges Shift To Emotional In

AI Driving Shifts Away From STEM Last week, speaking on the "Possible" podcast, Hastings framed his view around what AI does well versus what still depends on human connection. Hastings said AI's strengths lean toward structured, rule-based work, pointing to areas like software development and healthcare as places where capabilities could advance quickly. He contrasted that with experiences driven by emotion and culture, arguing that those won't become the central focus of an AI-led economy. "You're not going to watch a basketball game of robots," Hastings said. He also described entertainment, art, and sports as emotional domains that are not "the big thrust of the AI world." Hastings suggested education may swing back toward disciplines that train people to understand stories, history and how humans relate to one another. "If I had a three-year-old today, I would be like doubling down on the emotional skills," he said. Hastings said the past two decades elevated STEM and coding as must-have skills, but he now sees signs of saturation. "As everyone sees that coding is overdone, my guess is we'll see that STEM is overdone," he said. AI Jobs Debate: Musk, Pichai, Gates Clash On Future Of Work Earlier, Elon Musk said universal high-income payments could offset AI-driven job losses if automation boosts output enough, though Sanjeev Sanyal criticized the idea as economically risky. Bill Gates added that AI was already reshaping work and could eventually shorten the workweek, urging policymakers to prepare for economic changes without backing a single solution. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo Courtesy: catwalker on Shutterstock.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.