Cushman Writes

AI—love it or hate it, the future is here. Burning questions? Answered. The possibilities with AI are immeasurable. Jobs are becoming more efficient and, in some cases, are eliminating the need for human workers. It is simply reshaping parts of our world... But can it replace historians? On  August 25th, the Washington Post published an article titled  "Will historians really be replaced by AI? "  They remain sceptical  [1] .  Todd C. Frankel highlights that a recent Microsoft report placed ‘Historian’ as the second on their list of  jobs most likely to be replaced by AI. This is not surprising given the negative attitudes toward the humanities and the low pay historians often receive. Yet, many, including the head of the American Historical Association, don’t seem convinced. The role of a historian should be categorised as collecting data, scrutinising it, and presenting it in the context of the known information of a time and place. Whilst AI can be u...

Somewhere over the Atlantic, cramped into an economy seat, I asked: What is history for? Why do we study it? Who should tell it? Questions that fill my mind during a 10-hour flight, in which I finish re-reading John Tosh’s “The Pursuit of History”. In his widely renowned work, Tosh lays out the arguments for studying history and how one should go about attempting to do so. He also relays and interrogates the opinions put forward by other historians. However, what strikes me most is the encouragement Tosh gives to history to expand beyond the means of the academic circle. It must be embraced. On page forty-five of his work, Tosh cites Richard Cobb, who goes as far as to implore that historians – not stating by which merit (academic or otherwise) – should aim to be “endlessly inquisitive and prying.” This is interesting as it reveals what historians should intend to do. They must uncover the past by peeling back layers of evidence. This helps them understand the situations, people, and p...