The Liberal Arts in an Era of AI
I think it’s rare that a college student starts with the intention to cheat when they ask AI tools like ChatGPT to help them with their coursework. Instead, their primary motivation is saving time, which is precisely where they—and millions of other adults—run into trouble.By: AJ Lemheney, Ed.D., Vice President and Executive Director, Graduate and Continuing Education, Muhlenberg College Tuesday, February 11, 2025 11:30 AM
Today, AI can produce drafts that read surprisingly well, but the quality of the information contained within their manuscripts is often suspect. Part of the problem is that the large language models (LLMs) generating AI outputs are trained on existing knowledge, creating a remix of information rather than an original work.
Simultaneously, while AI models have improved accuracy, they often fail to put information into the proper context. The missing ingredient is a human who can use best practices in information literacy to separate trusted information, such as data from scholarly works, from information repeated (and sometimes misrepresented) on blog posts or corporate websites.
With AI’s impact expected to grow exponentially over the next decade, information literacy will become a core competency for all knowledge workers. As a result, liberal arts colleges, which focus on expanding students’ critical thinking skills, will become trusted allies in the ongoing quest to use AI ethically in the workplace.
The risks of AI distortion of information
Quantifying how often AI tools quote accurate vs. inaccurate information is challenging. What is clear, though, is that AI seldom gets everything right. A few of the risks this presents for college students, workers, and industries include:
- When you conduct a Google search, AI Overviews now appear at the top of the search engine results page. Yet when Google rolled out these overviews, they generated some alarming errors. One of the most glaring examples: Google suggested that former U.S. president Andrew Johnson earned academic degrees between 1947 and 2012, despite dying in 1875.
- LLMs open the door to potential bias-related risks. For example, a 2023 study shows that Black taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit were three to five times more likely to be audited by the IRS than non-Black taxpayers due to a predictive algorithm that skewed toward low- and middle-income working families. Another study, released in late November, details how AI bias can create greater healthcare disparities.
- Whenever someone loads personal data, such as their resume, into an AI engine, they lose control of that information. This poses multiple privacy risks and makes people vulnerable to nefarious tactics like spear-fishing, defined as the deliberate targeting of people for identity theft or fraud.
- The more AI is integrated into our work, school, and home lives, the more questions it raises about its ethical use. Many people in academia, for example, are now comfortable with students using AI tools to help research or create an outline for a scholarly paper. However, using it to create a draft—and then putting your name on top of that draft—raises serious questions about plagiarism and academic integrity.
Applying information literacy skills in the AI era
Information literacy and critical thinking are key to using AI productively in the workplace and reducing its inherent risks. Workers must be able to evaluate AI outputs, question assumptions, and consider multiple perspectives. Students develop these skills over time through proven educational frameworks.
Back in 2006—16 years before the public launch of ChatGPT—the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation published a white paper exploring media education for the 21st century. While the paper focused on the importance of developing information literacy skills in an era of user-generated content on social media, its tenets can easily be applied to today’s AI-influenced media landscape.
A few of the top skills recommended by the foundation and applicable to students today include:
- Judgment: Evaluating the reliability and credibility of different information sources
- Collective intelligence: Pooling knowledge and comparing notes with others toward a common goal
- Transmedia navigation: Following the flow of stories and information across multiple channels
- Negotiation: Traveling across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms
Developing higher levels of critical thinking through the liberal arts
By earning a degree from an accredited college or university, individuals can fine-tune their information literacy skills and position themselves for workplace success. By 2031, 72% of all U.S. jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education, according to a new report from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.
Liberal arts majors, in particular, are already highly sought after by employers who expect their employees to boost productivity through the ethical and responsible use of AI tools. Employers also seek skilled workers in quantitative reasoning, creativity, design, objective analysis, and evaluation.
As the head of the School of Graduate and Continuing Education at a liberal arts college, I have my own bias that education is essential in addressing contemporary issues faced by businesses today shaped by globalization, data-intensive decision-making, and advances in technology and automation. However, my opinion is backed up by many other experts in technology, education, and business.
For example, Higher Ed Dive, a popular industry newsletter, explored this topic with workforce leaders and educators last summer. Their conclusion: skills like creativity, problem-solving, and information literacy will be essential as employers consider the ethical ramifications of new technologies. Further, employees who leverage their liberal arts skills to create prompts that improve AI-generated outputs will be in even higher demand.
Muhlenberg College is committed to developing independent critical thinkers through the liberal arts and select preprofessional studies. Our faculty and staff host regular discussions about the impact of AI in education and on society. We then impart our knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students, encouraging them to hone their information literacy skills and harness the tremendous power of AI —all while abiding by our Academic Integrity Code.
Watching our students use AI to imagine the future of business is inspiring. One example is Andrew Gaines, a finance and economics major who explored AI’s potential to build financial portfolios. His work with AI led directly to an internship with a local financial advisory firm, demonstrating that employers instantly recognize the value a liberal arts education can bring.
Cultivating a smarter future for AI in the workplace
Businesses are moving fast, making productivity the new currency within workplaces. However, speed cannot come at the expense of accuracy or ethics. Workers with liberal arts degrees can help companies merge the efficiency of AI with human logic and reasoning, shaping the future of both work and society. The only question: Are you up for the challenge?
Interested in learning more about the Muhlenberg College Division of Graduate and Continuing Education? Set up an appointment with one of our advisors.
About the Muhlenberg College School of Continuing Studies
For more than 100 years, Muhlenberg College’s School of Continuing Studies has provided lifelong learners the opportunity to continue and enhance their education in ways that recognize their experience, maturity, motivation, life circumstances and capacity for independent scholarship. Through a rich variety of certificates and baccalaureate degrees, the School of Continuing Studies aligns a rigorous, high-quality and student-centric curriculum with the needs and trends of our regional economy.
About the Muhlenberg College School of Graduate Studies
The Muhlenberg College School of Graduate Studies offers a variety of post-baccalaureate certificates and master’s degrees aimed at enhancing intellectual and career development through challenging coursework grounded in the liberal arts. With a mix of graduate certificate pathways and master’s degrees aligned with workforce and economic trends, the Muhlenberg College School of Graduate Studies enables students to prepare for professional work and career advancement, with a focus on leadership and innovation.