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“The Public Intellectual Is Dead. And AI Has Killed Them.” by Walter Veit

Crosspost

Once upon a time, public intellectuals routinely made it into the news to discuss political, economic, medical, and scientific issues. To some extent, this is still true, but the appreciation for expertise has been eroded over time. Large parts of the political spectrum do not trust experts, unless, of course, they agree with what they already believe. Western democracies have often been derided for being technocratic and giving too much power to so-called experts. The scientific experts invited to participate in the political decision-making process are frequently derided for straying beyond their field of expertise. While there is a risk in that, of course, it is a largely unrealized one compared to a much more significant risk: that of the ignorant straying beyond their field of competence.

But there is a difference between a public intellectual and an expert. Public intellectuals, for the most part, have won prestige and recognition for their intellectual contributions in one area of intellectual inquiry, whether that is history, economics, psychology, philosophy, and so forth, and have used this credibility to become household names and participate in the public debates of our day. For the most part, they are a welcome corrective to [...]

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First published:
October 9th, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/uwt2CJaSrnqm67FZ9/the-public-intellectual-is-dead-and-ai-has-killed-them

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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