A Philosophy PhD Who Built an AI Empire Just Declared His Own Degree Worthless—But the Data Tells a More Complex Story

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At the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, Alex Karp—billionaire CEO of Palantir Technologies—made a startling prediction that sent shockwaves through the education world. The irony? A man with a philosophy degree from Haverford College, a law degree from Stanford, and a PhD in neoclassical social theory from a top German university just declared that humanities education is doomed in the age of AI.

“It will destroy humanities jobs,” Karp told BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. “You went to an elite school, and you studied philosophy—hopefully you have some other skill, that one is going to be hard to market.”

His prescription? Vocational training. Battery factory workers. Technicians. People who can be “rapidly” retrained for whatever industry needs them next.

But here’s where it gets interesting: The employment data and corporate hiring trends suggest Karp might be spectacularly wrong about the very degree that made him successful.

The Case FOR Karp’s Prediction: Vocational Skills Are Rising

Let’s start by acknowledging where Karp has solid ground beneath his argument.

The Numbers Don’t Lie About Entry-Level White Collar Jobs

The statistics on entry-level professional positions are genuinely concerning for humanities graduates:

• Entry-level hiring at the 15 biggest tech firms fell 25% from 2023 to 2024
• Computer programmer employment in the United States dropped a dramatic 27.5% between 2023 and 2025
• 30% of U.S. workers fear their job will be replaced by AI or similar technology by 2025
• By 2030, roughly 30% of current U.S. jobs could be fully automated

The World Economic Forum projects that machines and algorithms could take on more work tasks than humans by 2025, with 85 million jobs potentially eliminated by AI and automation.

Even Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei confirmed during their joint Davos panel that entry-level hiring at their companies was already declining due to AI, with software and coding roles down at both junior and mid-levels.

Vocational Trades Show Real Resilience

Karp’s emphasis on vocational skills isn’t just corporate propaganda. The data backs up significant protection for hands-on trades:

• Construction and skilled trades are among the least threatened by AI automation
• Over 663,000 openings are projected yearly in construction and extraction fields through 2033
• Healthcare vocational roles (medical assistants, dental hygienists, nursing aides) are projected to grow as AI augments rather than replaces these jobs
• Nurse practitioners are projected to grow by 52% from 2023 to 2033
• Personal services jobs (food service, medical assistants, cleaners) are expected to add over 500,000 positions by 2033

Skills requiring physical dexterity, on-site problem-solving, and human interaction in unpredictable environments remain stubbornly resistant to automation. You can’t automate fixing a burst pipe in a 100-year-old building or reading a patient’s non-verbal cues during a medical exam.

The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found strong growth at community colleges and among trade programs, suggesting students are already voting with their feet toward vocational paths.

China’s Data Supports Karp’s Concerns

The situation for humanities graduates looks particularly grim in China’s competitive market:

• Among the top 20 highest-earning majors for 2023 graduates in China, no liberal arts majors made the list
• China’s National Natural Science Foundation enjoyed a budget of RMB 36.3 billion in 2024, while funding for the National Social Science Foundation was only around one-thirtieth of that amount
• Universities are cutting humanities programs: Harvard cancelled more than 30 liberal arts courses in 2024, while Chinese institutions like Northwest University and Sichuan University withdrew several liberal arts majors

When money talks, it’s saying “go technical.”

The Case AGAINST Karp: Liberal Arts Are the New Premium

But here’s where Karp’s thesis falls apart—spectacularly. While he was busy declaring his own educational background obsolete, the world’s leading companies were quietly doing the exact opposite.

Tech Giants Are Hiring Humanities Grads for AI Oversight

The evidence that contradicts Karp is both recent and compelling:

McKinsey just reversed course entirely. The consulting firm’s CEO Bob Sternfels revealed they’re now “looking more at liberal arts majors, whom we had deprioritized” as potential sources of creativity. Why? Because AI models have become expert at problem-solving, but McKinsey needs people who can think beyond “logical next steps.”

BlackRock’s own COO contradicts Karp. Robert Goldstein told Fortune in 2024 that his company was actively recruiting graduates who studied “things that have nothing to do with finance or technology.”

Major tech companies are building humanities divisions:

• Apple recruits graduates from arts and humanities because designing products people want requires empathy and cultural awareness
• Microsoft has added ethicists and humanists to its AI teams to test for fairness, privacy, and cultural sensitivity
• Google employs philosophers, linguists, and sociologists to confront algorithmic bias and inclusivity
• OpenAI has professionals trained in liberal arts helping guide responsible AI development

The editorial director of Google’s NotebookLM—one of their largest AI products—explicitly stated that philosophical and psychological skills are particularly valuable for addressing AI-related questions and fine-tuning conversational tone.

The Employment Data Contradicts Karp’s Prediction

Here’s the stunning reversal in actual employment statistics:

• Art history graduates show 3% unemployment versus 7.5% for computer engineers
• Philosophy and history graduates outpace many tech specialists in the job market
• Liberal arts majors demonstrate far greater career resilience, with agility to move between jobs, careers, and industries

Why? Because while AI eliminated 27.5% of programmer jobs, it only reduced software developer roles (the more design-oriented positions) by 0.3%. The creative, strategic thinkers survived while the code writers got automated.

Cognizant’s CEO Flips the Script on Entry-Level Hiring

Perhaps most damaging to Karp’s thesis is what Ravi Kumar S, CEO of IT consulting giant Cognizant (with 350,000 employees), told Fortune:

“We are now going to hire non-STEM graduates. I’m going to liberal arts schools and community colleges.”

Kumar’s reasoning directly contradicts Karp: “I think we’ll need more school graduates in the AI era… AI is an amplifier of human potential. It’s not a displacement strategy.”

His company is hiring more school graduates than ever before in 2025, giving them AI tools so they can “punch above their weight.”

The Skills Gap Employers Actually Report

When you dig into what employers say they need versus what they’re getting, the humanities suddenly look essential:

• 64% of employers say oral communication is “essential,” but only 34% feel graduates are “very well prepared”
• Nearly 90% of employers stressed the importance of exposure to diverse perspectives and ideas—a hallmark of liberal arts education
• National Associate of College and Employers (NACE) 2023 ranked critical thinking second only to communication as the most important career competency
• Deloitte’s 2025 Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey found younger generations place even greater value on soft skills like empathy, leadership, and adaptability in an AI-driven workplace
• McKinsey projects that by 2030, demand for social and emotional skills in the United States will rise by 14%

The Problem With AI That Only Humanities Grads Can Solve

Here’s what Karp conveniently ignores: AI has fundamental limitations that require liberal arts training to overcome.

AI cannot generate original questions. It recombines patterns from training data. Someone needs to ask the right questions to get useful outputs—and that requires broad knowledge across disciplines, exactly what humanities education provides.

AI outputs are plagued by bias and errors. Who identifies algorithmic bias rooted in Western cultural assumptions? Who questions the exclusion of Indigenous knowledge? Who challenges phantom responses? People trained in sociology, history, philosophy, and ethics.

AI lacks judgment about what problems are worth solving. As one Reddit analysis put it: “AI pushes us toward creating more humanistic service roles that demand genuine empathy… machines don’t have hearts.”

Stanford research found the key dividing line: AI struggles with tasks requiring genuine human emotion, creativity, physical dexterity, and ethical judgment. Three of those four are exactly what humanities education cultivates.

So Who’s Right? Both. And Neither.

The truth is more nuanced than either extreme position suggests.

Karp Is Right About the Short-Term Pain

Entry-level humanities grads without technical skills are facing a brutal job market. The data on this is unambiguous:

• Nearly 50 million U.S. jobs at entry-level are at risk in coming years
• The unemployment rate for young workers ages 16 to 24 hit 10.4% in December 2025
• 39% of current skillsets will be overhauled or outdated between 2025 and 2030
• Many companies expect new hires to already come up to speed without extensive training

A philosophy grad who can’t code, can’t use AI tools, and has no practical skills is in serious trouble. Karp is correct that a pure humanities degree with zero technical augmentation is increasingly unmarketable for entry-level positions.

But Karp Is Spectacularly Wrong About the Long Game

What the employment data reveals is this: AI is creating a bifurcated job market.

The bottom tier gets automated. Entry-level programmers, data entry clerks, basic content writers, junior analysts—all getting displaced by AI. This is brutal for recent grads trying to get their foot in the door.

The middle tier needs technical skills. Battery factory workers, technicians, vocational specialists—these roles are secure and well-paying. Karp is absolutely right about this tier.

But the top tier increasingly demands humanities thinking. Senior developers who design systems, not just code them. Leaders who can ask the right questions. Ethicists who can prevent AI disasters. Creative directors who envision what doesn’t exist yet. Strategic thinkers who can pivot when industries transform.

And here’s the kicker: That top tier is where the philosophy PhD sits—precisely where Karp himself ended up.

The Real Answer: Hybrid Education

The most successful educational approach combines both:

1. Liberal arts foundation: Critical thinking, ethics, communication, creativity, cultural awareness
2. Technical augmentation: AI tool proficiency, data literacy, some coding ability
3. Lifelong learning mindset: Adaptability across changing industries

As one educator put it: “Liberal arts students will need to gain competency on the technical side. But the emergence of AI will also require people who are really thoughtful about: How do we prompt? Should we prompt in certain instances? How do we filter bias?”

Cognizant’s CIO Neal Ramasamy noted that the best programmers he’s hired came from music, philosophy, and literature backgrounds—because with AI handling the mechanical coding, “what’s left is the harder stuff: understanding problems deeply, communicating with stakeholders, and designing solutions that make sense.”

The Uncomfortable Truth Karp Won’t Admit

Alex Karp stands on stage at Davos—invited because of his success, credibility, and influence—and declares that the educational path that got him there is worthless.

Think about that logic.

His philosophy degree taught him to think critically about complex systems. His law training gave him frameworks for arguing positions. His PhD in social theory equipped him to understand how societies respond to technological change. These skills enabled him to co-found a company now worth $177 billion.

And his advice to young people is: “Don’t do what I did. Learn to build batteries instead.”

The real message should be: “Do what I did, but also learn to code and use AI tools.”

The Bottom Line for Students and Parents

If you’re choosing an educational path in 2025:

Don’t choose pure humanities without technical skills. The data on entry-level employment is too stark to ignore. You’ll struggle to get your foot in the door.

Don’t choose pure vocational training if you want long-term career flexibility. You’ll be secure in your specific trade, but vulnerable when that industry transforms. And it will transform.

Do choose liberal arts WITH technical augmentation. Study philosophy, but take computer science courses. Major in history, but learn data analysis. Get an English degree, but master AI tools. This combination is what employers are increasingly desperate to find.

As the Globe and Mail put it: “What’s the value of a liberal arts degree? The AI-world answer: exceptionally high and rising.”

But only if you pair it with the ability to actually use the technology transforming the world.

Final Thought: The Irony of Karp’s Position

Perhaps the most revealing part of this entire debate is that Alex Karp is using his humanities education to make the argument that humanities education is worthless.

His philosophical training gave him the abstract thinking to envision Palantir. His social theory background helped him understand how governments and institutions work. His ability to articulate complex ideas—honed through years of humanities education—is exactly why people listen when he speaks at Davos.

And now he’s climbing up the ladder and trying to pull it up behind him.

The vocational workers Karp celebrates are essential and deserve respect and good pay. But when those battery factory jobs get automated in 2035 by the next wave of robotics, those workers will need to pivot. And pivoting requires exactly the kind of adaptable, creative, critical thinking that humanities education provides.

Karp is living proof that philosophy graduates can build AI empires. Perhaps instead of declaring humanities doomed, he should be honest about what actually made him successful: a combination of deep humanistic thinking and the technical knowledge to apply it.

That combination—not vocational training alone—is the real future of work in the AI age.

At Zaller Law Group, we do not talk about AI and technology in the abstract. We use it—every day—as a litigation tool to give our clients a measurable advantage.

California wage-and-hour and PAGA cases are data cases. Outcomes often turn on what the time records actually show, how quickly they can be analyzed, and whether counsel truly understands the data. That is why we helped design and deploy Scaled Comp, a software platform our lawyers advised on the software development to analyze large volumes of time and pay data early in a case.

Here are five ways this technology materially benefits our clients.

1. Early, Large-Scale Time Record Analysis Saves Time and Money

Wage-and-hour and PAGA cases routinely involve tens of thousands—or millions—of time entries. Traditionally, this data is not meaningfully analyzed until late in the case, often after months of motion practice, discovery disputes, and mounting legal fees.

Using Scaled Comp, we analyze large volumes of time record data early—often at the outset of litigation. This allows us to identify compliance issues (or confirm compliance) before unnecessary costs are incurred.

Early insight means fewer surprises, tighter strategy, and a more efficient defense from day one.

2. Employers Know Their Potential Exposure—and Their Best Arguments

Data clarity changes everything.

When time records are analyzed early:

• Employers understand their realistic potential liability
• Employers know where their strongest defense arguments exist
• Strategy is built on facts, not assumptions

This is especially critical in mediation. Parties who understand their data negotiate from a position of strength. Parties who do not are negotiating blind.

Scaled Comp allows us to quantify issues, isolate anomalies, and explain—clearly and persuasively—the story the data actually tells.

3. Stronger “Reasonable Efforts” Arguments Under the Reformed PAGA Law

Under California’s 2024 PAGA reform, employers who can demonstrate reasonable efforts to comply may cap penalties at 15%.

Compliance rates matter. Patterns matter. Documentation matters.

By analyzing time records at scale, we can:

• Measure compliance rates across locations and time periods
• Identify where corrective actions were taken
• Support reasonable efforts arguments with real data, not general statements

This is not theoretical. It is outcome-driven litigation strategy tied directly to reduced penalty exposure.

4. Lawyers Must Control—and Understand—the Data

Too often, law firms outsource data analysis to third-party “experts” who run numbers in isolation and deliver a report weeks or months later. That approach creates three problems:

1. Lawyers lose control of the data
2. Lawyers do not fully understand the analysis
3. Strategy becomes dependent on someone outside the litigation team

At Zaller Law Group, Scaled Comp provides both the report and the underlying data for our attorneys to use and fully understand. This allows our lawyers to dispute differences between data sets in real time—an enormous advantage during negotiations and mediation.

Because Scaled Comp is used in-house:

• We control the data
• We understand the assumptions
• We can run real-time analysis during mediation or calls with a mediator

Your lawyer should be fluent in your records—not waiting on someone else to explain them.

5. Faster Insight Leads to Earlier Resolution—and Better Outcomes

Delays are expensive.

The longer it takes to analyze data, schedule mediation, and meaningfully evaluate exposure, the longer a case lingers, the longer the recovery period continues, and the higher the settlement risk becomes. Prolonged litigation increases legal spend, business disruption, and uncertainty.

By front-loading data analysis:

• Cases are positioned for earlier mediation
• Resolution happens earlier—not a year or more after filing
• Employers reduce total litigation cost and recovery period

Clients are better served by efficient resolution—not prolonged process.

Final Thought: AI Is No Longer Optional

This is no longer a debate about whether AI and technology belong in legal practice.

They are here.

Law firms that are not using technology to analyze data at scale are already behind opposing counsel—and are not delivering the strongest possible defense to their clients. Lawyers need to wake up to that reality.

At Zaller Law Group, we use technology strategically, responsibly, and aggressively to protect employers operating in California’s most challenging legal environment.

That is not the future of employment defense.
It is the present.

To learn more about Scaled Comp and how it is used to analyze time and pay data in wage-and-hour and PAGA matters, feel free to contact me or visit www.scaledcomp.com.

The post How Zaller Law Group Uses AI and Technology to Gain a Real Litigation Advantage for Employers appeared first on California Employment Law Report.

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We are already halfway through January. As noted in a prior blog, SB 294 requires all CA employers to distribute a “Know Your Rights” Notice by February 1, 2026. That Notice has now been published in English and Spanish.

The easy part is that this new Notice must be part of your new hire packets going forward.

The harder part is that SB 294 requires CA employers to provide this Notice to each current employee by February 1st, in a manner usually used to communicate employment-related information. That can be by email (if typically used), in a payroll stuffer, or by hand. Whatever way you chose to provide it, you should keep records of what you did.

CA employers are also required to let employees designate a person to be contacted if they are arrested or detained at work (or during work hours but not at the worksite if the employer has actual knowledge of the arrest or detention). If you haven’t already, you can invite your employees to update their Emergency Contact Form, or provide a name to Human Resources for these purposes, as part of your correspondence with this Notice.

Note, you are not required to post the notice, but you certainly can.

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Trump was caught on camera today giving the finger to a Ford plant worker. TMZ reports: Donald Trump turned into Donald Grump during a Tuesday appearance at a Ford plant … launching into an F-bomb attack on a worker who appeared to yell ‘pedophile protector’ at the Prez. 47 toured the Ford F-150 plant at…

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Unions in Minnesota are making their voice heard in the wake of ICE raids that have left one American dead in the state. CBS News reports: “Faith leaders, union representatives and community members are calling for a Day of Truth and Freedom on Friday, Jan. 23 — urging all Minnesotans not to go to work,…

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Another update for California employers is on the horizon. In this episode of California Employment News, Weintraub Tobin attorneys Meagan Bainbridge and Nikki Mahmoudi break down SB 513, a new law that clarifies what documents must be included in an employee’s personnel file which came into effect on January 1, 2026.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel.

By Shelly Lurie

Everyone loves pizza. It warms our hearts, our bellies, and of course our ovens with its melty, gooey, delicious cheesiness.  The great thing about pizza is you can satisfy everyone in the family because there are so many different toppings to choose from!  Whether you enjoy a classic Plain Jane cheese pizza, a meat-lovers pizza, or a veggie covered pie, adding different toppings is so easy. I would like to argue that you can put almost anything on top of a pizza and it will taste good! And for those of us who may not be the most seasoned chefs, homemade pizza is easy and fun to make! I do suggest though that you grab a friend or two to help.

What’s even more special about this particular pizza recipe is… it can be made with ALL union-made ingredients! When you make this pizza, not only will you be satisfying your stomach, but also satisfying America’s hunger for good jobs! This is the first of a series of recipes we here at 411 will be trying that are made with almost entirely union-made products!

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The California Labor Commissioner published the official “California Workplace – Know Your Rights” notice (available here in English and Spanish) required under the Workplace Know Your Rights Act (SB 294).

The first mandatory distribution date is February 1, 2026.

Here are five things every California employer should understand now.

1. Distribution Rules Are Specific

Beginning February 1, 2026, employers must provide the notice:

• To all current California employees by February 1, 2026;
• To new hires at the time of hire; and
• To union representatives, where applicable.

Delivery must be made using the employer’s normal communication method—including personal delivery, email, or text message—so long as receipt can reasonably be expected within one business day.

2. Recordkeeping Requirements: Keep Proof For Three Years

Employers must keep proof of notice delivery for at least three years. This proof can include:

• Signed acknowledgment forms
• Digital read receipts or confirmation emails
• HR system logs

Strong documentation will be key if the Labor Commissioner or another enforcement agency requests verification.

For California HR teams, this is a good time to audit your employee recordkeeping process and ensure that all required workplace postings and notices are organized in one place.

3. New Educational Videos and Employer Resources

The Labor Commissioner’s Office will also release two educational videos by July 1, 2026:

1. A video for employees explaining their workplace rights.
2. A video for employers outlining compliance requirements and constitutional protections.

Employers should plan to include these videos in onboarding, annual training, or even all-hands compliance refreshers to demonstrate good-faith efforts at compliance.

For updates on when these materials become available, make sure you are subscribed to receive updates at California Employment Law Report.

4. Emergency Contact Obligations Are a Separate Compliance Deadline

SB 294 also imposes a new requirement effective March 30, 2026.

By that date, employers must allow employees to:

• Designate or update an emergency contact; and
• Indicate whether that contact should be notified if the employee is arrested or detained.

If an employee makes that request, the employer must notify the emergency contact when the employee is arrested or detained:

• At the workplace; or
• During work hours or job duties (even off-site), if the employer has actual knowledge.

This requirement will require updated forms, onboarding processes, and HR training.

5. Penalties Are Real—and Layered on Top of Other Exposure

Failure to comply with SB 294 can result in civil penalties of:

• Up to $500 per employee per day for emergency contact violations; and
• Up to $500 per employee per violation for notice-related failures.

Bottom Line for Employers

Now is the time for employers to:

• Audit communication systems for reliable, trackable distribution;
• Update onboarding documents (we generally recommend standard new hire packets);
• Prepare emergency contact procedures ahead of March 30, 2026;
• Train managers and HR teams on how these rights apply in practice; and
• Calendar February 1, 2026 as a firm compliance deadline.

California continues to raise the bar on employer documentation and transparency. Employers who prepare early will be best positioned to demonstrate good-faith compliance—and reduce litigation risk—when enforcement begins.

The post The Labor Commissioner Has Released the Official “Know Your Rights” Notice — What California Employers Need to Do Next appeared first on California Employment Law Report.