MIT's humanities, arts and social sciences dean says practical use isn't the only measure
At the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences' 75th Anniversary Symposium, speakers explored how artificial intelligence is transforming teaching, research, and society. Agustín Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS and a professor of philosophy, said that while the school's research addresses global issues such as climate change and AI, its value should not be measured by practical application alone.
Education, he said, should also help us ask what is worth doing, what we owe one another, and what makes a life worth living. Some research matters because it helps us understand the histories, cultures, and social structures that have made us who we are.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The careful wording is 'not ... alone.' Practical application stays on the scale; the argument is only that something else belongs there too. That is a more defensible position than treating usefulness as irrelevant.
Yet Rayo himself says SHASS research helps address climate change and AI. If that isn't practical application, the word is doing strange work. The distinction may be less between useful and useless than between different kinds of use.