Anthropic Co-Founder Just Made the Case for Classical Education

In a recent interview, Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei made a striking claim: in the age of AI, studying the humanities will be “more important than ever.” While AI systems are already highly capable in many technical domains, Amodei argues that the qualities that make us uniquely human—clear communication, emotional intelligence, curiosity, and a deep understanding of history and human nature—will grow in value, not shrink. At Anthropic, she noted, they deliberately hire people who excel as communicators, possess strong interpersonal skills, and approach problems with empathy.

This perspective aligns remarkably well with the aims of classical education. Rather than treating the humanities as secondary, schools like Saint Joseph Academy place literature, history, philosophy, logic, and rhetoric at the heart of learning. Students learn to read closely, write with precision, reason carefully, and speak persuasively, developing the exact human capacities that business leaders now say are essential. St. John Henry Newman captured the logic of this approach when he wrote that “though the useful is not always good, the good is always useful.” A formation ordered toward what is true, good, and beautiful is not an impractical luxury; it yields immediate fruit in clearer thinking, better judgment, and ethical leadership.

At Saint Joseph Academy, this formation is both intentional and integrated. Through a classical curriculum rooted in Catholic tradition, our students encounter truth, beauty, and goodness while growing in virtue. They practice the critical thinking, communication, and character traits that AI cannot replicate. As technology handles more of the routine technical work, a classical Catholic education equips young people not merely to keep pace with change, but to lead with wisdom, virtue, and insight—precisely because the good they pursue is, as Newman insisted, always useful.

To read the Forbes article on Daniela Amodei's interview with ABC News, click here: https://fortune.com/2026/02/07/anthropic-cofounder-daniela-amodei-humanities-majors-soft-skills-hiring-ai-stem/