Berkowitz: AI Can Answer Your Questions, But a Liberal Education Teaches You What To Ask
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/09/29/berkowitz_ai_can_answer_your_questions_but_it_cant_teach_you_what_to_ask.html

Peter Berkowitz, RCP columnist and author of the new book, Reclaiming Liberal Education in America," (https://amplifypublishinggroup.com/product/nonfiction/industries/education/reclaiming-liberal-education-in-america/) commented on what parts of a university education AI can and can't replace, Monday on the RCP podcast (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/09/28/rcp_podcast_do_republicans_need_a_reality_check.html).

"I want to remind everybody that distance learning is actually not a novel development. It was invented about in the 15th century with movable press," he quipped. "This thing called a book."

"A book enabled you to walk around the town, the village, the farm, sit down all by yourself, and you had access to the treasures of civilization.

"But we discovered that for most people, as wonderful, magical, elevating as books can be, conversation with other human beings-who have faces, who laugh and scowl, whose tone of voice indicates something about whether you're onto the truth or straying down a dead end-is helpful to education.

"I do not mean to disparage the advances of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence talks back to you in ways that books don't. It's a marvelous tool," Berkowitz said. "But I don't see that artificial intelligence has obviated the need for the classic seminar, when students sit around a table.

"They're led by a slightly more advanced student-we call that person the teacher-who puts questions to them and, when he or she hears answers, puts questions to their answers, and so the conversation unfolds.

"I can remember when the internet was new, and the hope was we've entered a new world when, with a few clicks, you could always find the other side of the argument. You would be exposed to a wide range of views.

"It turns out, with just a few clicks also, you can be ever more tightly cocooned in a web of your own thoughts, and even more effectively only read those opinions that support your instincts and reflexes," he said. "We know which way that has gone, which of those two buttons people have been more inclined to push."

"Because AI doesn't teach you to ask the questions. If you bring the ability to ask the questions, it can be an excellent tool," said Berkowitz.

"And one place you can learn to ask the questions is a website like RealClearPolitics, where article number one says, 'Let's do X,' and article number two says, 'Doing X will bring about the end of the world.' Those are good juxtapositions," he said.