Anthropic Cofounder Says Humanities Majors Will Be 'More Important Than Ever' in AI Age

Daniela Amodei believes uniquely human qualities will be critical as AI augments and complements human work.

Published on Feb. 7, 2026

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Daniela Amodei, cofounder of AI company Anthropic, said in an interview that studying the humanities will be more important than ever as AI advances, as the 'things that make us human' become increasingly valuable. Amodei, who majored in literature, believes AI will complement rather than replace human workers, and that skills like communication, empathy, and critical thinking will be in high demand.

Why it matters

As AI becomes more capable, there are concerns that it could automate many jobs and make certain skills obsolete. However, Amodei's perspective suggests that the 'human touch' will remain crucial, with AI augmenting rather than replacing human workers. This has implications for the future of education and the job market, as soft skills may become more valuable than purely technical expertise.

The details

Amodei, who cofounded Anthropic with her brother Dario, said the number of jobs that AI could do without human help is 'vanishingly small.' She believes AI will actually create 'more meaningful work, more challenging work, more interesting work, high-productivity jobs.' While technical skills will still be important, Amodei said Anthropic looks to hire people with strong communication, emotional intelligence, and people skills. She thinks studying the humanities, which focuses on understanding the human experience, will be crucial as AI becomes more prevalent.

  • Amodei cofounded Anthropic in 2020 after previously working at Stripe and OpenAI.
  • Anthropic recently released new AI-coding tools, sparking a selloff in tech stocks as the technical expertise needed for coding is expected to decline.

The players

Daniela Amodei

The cofounder and president of Anthropic, an AI research company. She previously worked at Stripe and OpenAI after majoring in literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Dario Amodei

The cofounder and CEO of Anthropic, Daniela's brother.

Jamie Dimon

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, who has also emphasized the growing importance of 'soft skills' like emotional intelligence and communication as AI advances.

Ginni Rometty

The former CEO of IBM, who said generative AI will put a premium on abilities like collaboration, judgment, and critical thinking.

Satya Nadella

The CEO of Microsoft, who said emotional intelligence and empathy are becoming increasingly important as AI takes over more analytical and technical tasks.

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What they’re saying

“The things that make us human will become much more important instead of much less important.”

— Daniela Amodei, Cofounder and President, Anthropic (ABC News)

“I actually think studying the humanities is going to be more important than ever.”

— Daniela Amodei, Cofounder and President, Anthropic (ABC News)

“IQ has a place, but it's not the only thing that's needed in the world.”

— Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft (Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner's MD Meets podcast)

What’s next

As AI continues to advance, education and hiring practices may shift to place more emphasis on developing soft skills like communication, empathy, and critical thinking. Companies and policymakers will likely need to closely monitor the impact of AI on the job market and workforce development.

The takeaway

Contrary to fears that AI will make many human skills obsolete, Anthropic's cofounder believes the 'things that make us human' will become even more valuable as AI advances. This suggests a future where AI complements rather than replaces human workers, and where skills like creativity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to think critically will be in high demand.