The Human Skill Renaissance: Why AI is Making Media and Law Degrees Vital Again

When artificial intelligence was first discussed extensively, one forecast almost immediately hit the headlines and in fact, it turned out to be true a few years down the line: most of the first to be disrupted would be jobs revolving around writing research, communicating and analyzing. Journalism and law were regarded as industries where AI could quite fast lead to the automation of large parts of work. Having reached deep into the AI wave of the last two years, this very prediction surely could be questioned.

There can be no doubt that AI has, at least partially, changed the way in which information is produced, handled, and accessed. It not only can write up contracts, shortens texts much longer than the contracts, composes articles, analyses documents, and fetch information within seconds, but these features are also disruptive in that they transform the way that people work in different sectors of the economy. Still, they make us aware of a major fact: information is abundant, there is though a lack of interpretation. Because of this, the publicity of law and journalism education is now going through something of a renaissance.

In many cases, people ignored the idea that these fields of study could be anything but training for jobs when they considered pursuing the two. That is to say. It was expected that a law education would result in a litigation or corporate practice job, whereas a media education would equip one for the professions of journalism advertising broadcasting, or public relations. But the skills one gets from studying these two disciplines are nowadays much broader than the professions that one could traditionally think of. Mostly, both disciplines instill among learners a way of thinking ahead of their speaking.

Legal studies give one the capacities to analyze, to make ethical decisions, to understand the art of bargaining, to base decisions on the evaluation of evidence, and to be able to handle complex situations with no right answers as a rule. Education in media equips one with skills in narrating stories, in questioning critically, in communicating effectively, in understanding the audience, and in discerning manipulation from information. This is why in this age of AI they are gaining even more recognition.

It cannot be denied that AI is making lawyers’ work more efficient and freeing them up from having to produce certain documents as well as times when human input is required. Here Though the creative aspect of the law professionals’ role comes out overwhelmingly, e.g. working with emotions, trying to reach an agreement, interpreting the law, understanding people, and the like. No two, or more, parties in a legal transaction are the same, which is why a legal practitioner cannot deal with mere statutory interpretation but may have to deal with social, emotional, and ethical issues. In a similar fashion, being a journalist is not just about reporting, but is rather about being a trustworthy reporter in the times of post-truth when people get fake news from all sides. Besides, we should not look on journalists as conveyors only but in addition, as educators who help the public understand the information and distrust the false one.

These trends signal more significant implications for employment in general. The more AI can carry out repetitive, machine-like cognitive tasks, the more valuable human abilities that are unique and cannot be copied get to be the main source of competitive advantage. Those who can interact better, communicate clearly, think on a high level, work in teams, deal with ambiguity, and decide responsibly are what the current trend in recruitment is all about.

Educational institutions can no longer limit their programs to technical knowledge or disciplinary content. They must combine education and training in digital skills with the development of judgment. Besides learning the skills to handle AI, students also need to be able to question its outputs, understand its limitations, and make decisions that go beyond what algorithms suggest.

Professionals who can combine a solid understanding of technology with human insight will be the one who will be more rewarded in the future workplace. A lawyer, for example, who has a good knowledge of AI and at the same time has a strong sense of judgment, will be a very valuable resource. Then again, a media person who can use technological advances and at the same time maintain integrity and gain public confidence, will keep generating values that cannot be produced solely by machines.

Because of this, the talk should not be about whether AI will replace media professionals or lawyers. The question that really matters is whether education can equip students with skills and capabilities that AI cannot perform.

The is the real potential.

Artificial intelligence is not reducing the significance of media and law education. On the contrary, it shows us what have made and continues to make these disciplines important.

Since technology may change how we obtain information, it is ultimately human judgment, ethical reasoning, communication, and critical thinking that will decide the role of that information in society.

By Chirag Gupta, Vice President, IMS Noida