AI begins and thrives with the humanities

The key to understanding AI's place in human society is the humanities, whose scholars have been studying the human-nonhuman relationship for centuries, argues Dr Elvis Imafidon. 

The logic and reasoning behind Artificial Intelligence (AI), its emergence, development and thriving, is the humanities.

AI is the latest non-human entity

Before the STEM enthusiast comes for my head, let’s establish some common ground here. We can all agree that AI is essentially curating intelligence and cognitive functioning outside of the human, creating a non-human (artificial) personhood of some sort to collaborate with. While this is a new technology, seeking guidance from non-humans is not in itself new.

Humans have long sought knowledge and wisdom from non-humans - such as animals, trees, supernatural and more recently artificial entities.

And the study of such interdependence is not new. It is, in fact, one of the oldest concerns of the humanities.

What the humanities studies and how it links to AI

The humanities - Philosophy, Linguistics, Religion, History, Arts and the like – is the study of global human and non-human traditions, cultures and societies from varied methodological and disciplinary approaches. Crucially, this does not mean it is only about humans.

The humanities have always been at the forefront of examining non-human knowledge and wisdom...and the limitations of human-centric knowledge.

For centuries, the humanities have explored the nature of the human and non-human relationship, what has worked and failed to work, what ethical commitments sustain such a relationship, what the relationship contributes to human society, the collaborative and disruptive nature of the relationship, amongst other interests. 

These examples reveal why the humanities are uniquely positioned to ask the most important questions now arising in the wake of AI: To what extent can AI be granted agency and the status of personhood? Can AI be trusted as part of human society? And who gets to decide? 

The humanities have always been at the forefront of examining non-human knowledge and wisdom, intelligence, cognitive functions and claims to personhood and the limitations of human-centric knowledge.

An African philosophical lens and ecocentric intelligence 

As I develop in my book Doing African Philosophy (2026), African philosophy shows that societies thrive on ecocentric intelligence rather than human-centric intelligence. Ecocentric intelligence includes a fluid category of non-human entities, which now obviously includes AI.

We, as humans, learn from and are taught by trees, our ancestors, the weather, animals, and so on. Our knowledge, wisdom and understanding are incomplete without the non-human community of beings.

Ecocentric intelligence holds that human, non-human and trans-human beings contribute to the ecology of thought and production. We, as humans, learn from and are taught by trees, our ancestors, the weather, animals, and so on. Our knowledge, wisdom and understanding are incomplete without the non-human community of beings. Ecocentric intelligence thrives essentially on the moral framework of relationality, where beings such as AI are critically scrutinised and evaluated based on the extent to which they contribute to the flourishing of the ecology of beings or community of selves.

Humanities in the wake of AI

Considering the longstanding interest in the non-human in the humanities, and the emphasis on collaboration, relationality and ecocentric intelligence, AI ought not to be evaluated primarily on the basis of its technical capability, but by its capacity for relationality and building community: does it contribute to the flourishing of the wider community of beings, or does it threaten it? This moral lens is one that the humanities is equipped to provide.

The goal then is not to attempt to defeat AI or get rid of it, as it is essentially woven into our way of being to be AI-ish and depend on non-human entities.

Humanities is key to understanding the extent to which AI builds, enhances or threatens relationships and community. 

The goal then is not to attempt to defeat AI or get rid of it, as it is essentially woven into our way of being to be AI-ish and depend on non-human entities. It is rather to grapple with and critically scrutinise the fundamental questions of personhood and relationality in the context of AI.  

To get AI right, the humanities must thus be taken seriously and be involved in the evolution of AI to contribute much-needed critical perspectives framed around the broader context of the ecology of thought and human – non-human personhood and relationships.