A Simple Look at What’s at Stake

In today’s fast-moving world, we’re surrounded by technology that’s changing how we live, work, and even think. One of the biggest and fastest-growing forces is Artificial Intelligence (AI) machines that can learn, write, draw, speak, and even teach. AI is no longer just a futuristic dream; it’s here, and it’s getting smarter every day.

This raises a big question: What happens to our human values, creativity, and understanding in a world where machines can do what we once thought only humans could? Two respected thinkers, historian D. Graham Burnett and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, have both written powerful essays exploring this very question. Their insights matter deeply to the work we do at the MMS Global Foundation, especially as we focus on education, ethics, and the future of global society.

Let’s break down their ideas in a simple, clear way—and see why this conversation is so important for all of us.

A Strange New Intelligence

D. Graham Burnett wrote a recent essay in The New Yorker titled “Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?” He described an experience many of us can relate to: he gave his university students the task of talking to an AI chatbot about the topic of “attention” and then turning that conversation into a short paper.

What he read left him stunned. The AI’s responses were not just accurate or helpful; they were eerily lifelike. Burnett said it felt like meeting a new kind of being: part machine, part person, and hard to define. He called it a “mechanomorphic shadow,” a kind of mirror that looked human but wasn’t.

What disturbed him most wasn’t just that the machine could talk like a person. It was how quickly it could take over the kind of thoughtful, slow, and personal thinking that human beings have always done, especially in areas like literature, philosophy, and history. These fields are known as the humanities, and they’ve helped shape human culture for thousands of years.

What Are the Humanities, and Why Do They Matter?

The humanities include subjects like art, history, literature, religion, ethics, and philosophy. They’re not about making money or building machines. They’re about understanding what it means to be human—our values, our struggles, our creativity, and our connections to one another.

But in a world where AI can write essays, summarize books, create poems, and answer deep questions in seconds, people are starting to wonder: Do we still need the humanities? Can they survive?

Burnett believes we must not give them up. He says we’re in danger of losing the slower, more thoughtful parts of ourselves, and that AI could turn our attention into just another product to sell. If we aren’t careful, he warns, we’ll let machines shape us instead of the other way around.

A Warning from a Global Leader

Burnett’s ideas echo those of Henry Kissinger, a world-renowned statesman who has spent decades thinking about politics, technology, and human history.

In 2018, Kissinger wrote an essay called “How the Enlightenment Ends.” In it, he argued that AI poses a deep challenge to how we understand ourselves. For over 300 years, since the Enlightenment period in Europe, people have believed that human reason—the ability to think clearly and logically—was the key to progress.

But now, AI systems can make decisions, solve problems, and even write scientific papers without understanding anything in a human way. They don’t think like us. They don’t feel. And they don’t ask moral questions like, “Should I do this?” or “Is this right?”

Kissinger warns that if we let AI guide us without strong ethical thinking, we risk losing our sense of what is true, what is good, and what is meaningful. In short, we may create powerful tools without the wisdom to use them well.

What Both Writers Are Really Saying

Although Burnett and Kissinger come from different worlds—one from the humanities, the other from global politics—they both say the same thing: AI is not just a tool; it’s a turning point in human history.

They aren’t against technology. But they believe we need to slow down and think carefully. We need to teach our children not just how to use AI,  but also how to stay human in an age of machines.

That means protecting the humanities, encouraging deep thinking, and making space for conversation, creativity, and connection. These are the things AI can’t truly do—and may never be able to.

What This Means for Us at MMS Global Foundation

At the MMS Global Foundation, we believe education must prepare people not just for jobs, but for life. That includes:

  • Teaching ethics and values so that people can make thoughtful, compassionate decisions.
  • Promoting cultural understanding so we can build bridges between communities and generations.
  • Encouraging critical thinking and creativity so people don’t just accept what machines say but ask deep questions.

AI will continue to grow. It will become part of every classroom, business, and home. But we must remember: AI is not human. It doesn’t replace human judgment, empathy, or imagination.

The challenge for us all, especially educators, parents, leaders, and students, is to keep the human spirit alive in an increasingly digital world. In Simple Words: What Can You Do?

  • Be curious, not passive. Don’t just let AI do your thinking. Ask questions. Read. Reflect.
  • Value the arts and humanities. Support books, music, culture, and conversations about meaning.
  • Use AI wisely. It’s a tool, not a teacher. Let it help you, but don’t let it lead you.
  • Teach the next generation well. Help young people learn how to think deeply, not just how to click quickly.

Final Thought

As Burnett and Kissinger both show us, the future is not just about machines. It’s about the choices we make with our hearts, minds, and values. At MMS Global Foundation, we stand for a future where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.

Let’s build that future—together.