As artificial intelligence reshapes research and education, MIT leaders and scholars say technical expertise needs to be accompanied by human understanding. That message ran through a two-day symposium celebrating 75 years of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS).
A school founded to connect technology and human questions
The Sept. 24-25 gathering brought scholars, students, staff, and alumni to the Linde Music Building’s Thomas Tull Concert Hall. Research talks, panel discussions, performances, and alumni presentations explored how the school’s work relates to urgent questions facing society.
SHASS traces its origins to the Lewis Committee Report, commissioned by MIT and published in 1949. The report called for closer integration of scientific and technical subjects with humanistic scholarship and teaching. At the anniversary event, MIT President Sally Kornbluth connected that founding idea with current uncertainty about artificial intelligence.
Kornbluth said AI has arrived with major consequences for research and education, and that MIT needs the insight and guidance of the humanities, arts, and social sciences. Provost Anantha Chandrakasan made a related case for a human-centered approach to technology: evaluating not just whether a system works, but also how it affects people.
Chandrakasan pointed to research underway through the MIT Human Insight Collaborative, a strategic initiative launched in 2024. He argued that technical mastery by itself is not enough to help address the world’s major challenges.
Education asks more than what can be built
Speakers also considered what students gain from SHASS courses and how teaching should respond to AI. Chancellor Melissa Nobles recalled positive student feedback from SHASS course assessments during her time as dean from 2015 to 2021. Students, she said, bring interests to these classes that may not be visible to their STEM professors.
Agustín Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS and professor of philosophy, said the school’s value should not be judged only by whether its research has a practical application. Education can also help people consider what is worth doing, what they owe one another, and what makes life meaningful. Research into history, culture, and social structures can explain how people and societies came to be; other work enriches human life in ways that may not fit a narrow measure of utility.
That broad view appeared in the symposium’s discussion of curriculum. Faculty described educational programs including the MIT Indigenous Languages Initiative Master's Program, the Master in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy (DEDP), and MISTI, the hub for global experiences for MIT students.
Stephanie Seed, associate professor of literature, discussed efforts to bring classic books back into teaching. At an institution focused on imagining and creating the future, she argued, reading the past has particular value. Eric Klopfer, professor of Comparative Media Studies/Writing and co-author of MIT’s recent report on AI and instruction, said instructors need to rethink the educational experience itself, not simply make adjustments to course content.
How people interpret and relate to AI
A session on computing and society examined how technology shapes human experience. MIT Professor D. Fox Harrell said people project parts of themselves onto computational systems. He argued that an AI system is understood not only through its code or algorithm, but also through the way people describe it as having intentions.
Program in Science, Technology, and Society Professor Sherry Turkle raised concerns about the human relationships that AI chatbots may invite. She described the systems as “intimate machines” and argued that, while social media competed for attention, chatbots may affect people’s capacity for attachment.
David Autor, head of the Department of Economics, described the pace of change as unusually fast and the stakes as high. The symposium’s discussions suggest why the human consequences of AI cannot be treated as an afterthought: people’s expectations, relationships, and institutions shape how technology is understood and used.
Arts and alumni show the school’s reach
The event also made the case for SHASS through performance and the experiences of its graduates. The first day ended with a Music and Theater Arts showcase, beginning with an excerpt from Stan Lai’s “A Dream Like A Dream,” directed and performed by students and instructors in class 21T.100 (Theater Arts Production).
“Variations on the Theme of SHASS 75,” choreographed by Dan Safer, combined movement, lighting, and music. Student and faculty performers also included Rambax MIT, MIT Concert Choir, and the MIT All-Star Jazz Combo. The program featured “Madrigal,” composed by Vice Provost for the Arts Keeril Makan, and “Prayer for Peace.”
On the second day, alumni described how their SHASS education continues to inform their work. Jessica Coon PhD ’10, now a professor of linguistics at McGill University, discussed language preservation and said SHASS helped her communicate research impacts to different audiences. Ankita Reddy ’19, who double-majored in anthropology and biology and is now an MD/PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, highlighted influential courses including 21A.308 (Global Mental Health).
David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and professor of physics at MIT and chair of the symposium planning committee, said the gathering aimed to show the school’s current work and what its community hopes to tackle together. Across its talks, classes, performances, and alumni accounts, the anniversary offered a shared argument: understanding people and society is part of preparing for technological change.