The revenge of the philosophy majors

Accessing the Article / Meta

• Many comments address the NYT paywall; users share archive links.
• Several note the piece is “high on vibes, low on metrics,” criticizing its framing and lack of hard numbers.

Scale of “Revenge” / Job Market Reality

• The headline claim that demand for philosophers in AI “outstrips supply” is widely doubted.
• Cited numbers (e.g., “at least a half‑dozen” philosophers at a few labs) suggest only dozens of such roles worldwide.
• Compared with thousands of engineers and PMs, commenters see this as marginal, more “nearly a dozen” than a true boom.
• Some argue the narrative may be PR, signaling that labs are serious about ethics or consciousness.

Value of Philosophy Training

• Many report philosophy—especially analytic philosophy and logic—as excellent preparation for:
  • Clear thinking, argumentation, and writing.
  • Software engineering, law, consulting, and CS research.
• Several with philosophy majors now work as senior engineers or in tech leadership, crediting formal logic and close reading.
• Others claim philosophy can become a self‑referential game or training in rhetoric that dazzles rather than clarifies.

Analytic vs Continental and Difficulty

• Long subthreads contrast analytic philosophy (clarity, logic) with continental (dense, poetic, historically loaded).
• Some find continental texts (e.g., German idealism, phenomenology) nearly impenetrable; others insist difficulty reflects translation, historical context, and intended style.
• Debate over whether philosophy is “harder” than math/CS; some see its lack of firm correctness criteria as making it harder, others see that as a weakness.

Philosophy’s Role in AI

• Supportive views:
  • Ethics, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and philosophy of language seen as directly relevant to AI alignment, prompting, and governance.
  • Examples include applying speech‑act theory to prompt design and using philosophical tools to clarify requirements and concepts.
• Skeptical views:
  • Some think these hires mainly launder reputations or justify expansion, with critical voices likely to be ignored.
  • Others argue AI is still mostly linear algebra and doesn’t need philosophers beyond optics.

Broader Education & Society Themes

• Recurring debate over universities as job‑training vs. places to seek truth and knowledge.
• Several argue more people should study philosophy or epistemology early, to reason better about belief, bias, and public discourse.
• Others emphasize that actual job prospects for typical philosophy majors remain limited, despite a few high‑profile AI roles.