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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7218-4940

Abstract

Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that originated in the 1930s and 40s, gained momentum in the late 70s and 80s, and peaked in the 90s and 2000s. Since its inception, neoliberalism has promoted a free-market economy with minimal state intervention, granting individuals the freedom to compete and succeed. Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the neoliberal system has invested in, incorporated, and promoted Artificial Intelligence (AI), valuing an AI-enhanced corporate ethos. As a result, the success of higher education is generally measured by the quantity of technologically sound, market-ready, AI-trained human capital it produces for industry. This trend has been ever-growing, culminating at present. In such an AI-enhanced neoliberal nexus, graduates who are showered with the knowledge and wisdom of liberal arts education—which has long sustained its potential to cultivate critical, ethical, and responsible civic engagement—are gradually deemed unsellable human capital. In this article, to restore the purpose and value of liberal arts education by foregrounding four key liberal arts ideals—self-with-other, thinking and acting ethically and responsibly, value-driven acts, and the healing of anxiety and stress—I argue that liberal arts education offers a wisdom drive that, if revived and reclaimed in higher education, can guide the neoliberal economy and AI technology toward an inclusive, ethical, and socially just direction. Hence, this article offers critical insights into how liberal arts principles can bridge the gap between human wisdom and artificial intelligence, redefining the meaning of higher education in a neoliberal corporate landscape.


Submitted: April 11. 2026

Accepted: June 11, 2026

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