THE idea that artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly disrupt industries is becoming more prevalent. The adoption of AI, machine learning and automation across different sectors has revolutionised the workplace.
This technological shift demands a workforce skilled in cybersecurity, data analysis and digital literacy, necessitating students to move beyond traditional computer engineering and management studies.
While Malaysia’s commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, as reflected in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, is encouraging and a step in the right direction, it risks further marginalising the already alienated humanities and arts, which are equally essential disciplines for addressing the complex challenges of our world.
Amid this whirlwind of technological advancement, one immutable truth remains: We are stubbornly human. Despite our immersion in the digital realm, our emotions persist, often bypassing the rationality of our cognitive faculties.
As we embrace the conveniences and opportunities afforded by the technological age, the complexities of our human nature continue to shape the course of our lives and societies. This has not gone unrecognised by some of the top global employers.
Multinational tech companies like Google, Intel, Xerox and IBM frequently employ anthropologists, with Microsoft reputedly being the second largest employer of anthropologists globally.
Anthropology is no longer a discipline that is centred on humanity’s evolutionary roots and its uniqueness as a species. Its core principles are being applied to futuristic industries. This explains the global demand for corporate anthropologists who are valued for their multidimensional insights on consumers and their nuanced understanding of workplace cultures.
The rationale is straightforward: While AI-driven big data analytics allows us to discern patterns in extensive datasets, it takes human interpretation to contextualise and make sense of the overwhelming information generated.
One can argue that these are conventional skills already present in established management and marketing practices, particularly in areas related to consumer and organisational behaviour. Though valid, performing an impartial data analysis hinges on practitioners’ capacity to seamlessly deconstruct (and reconstruct) existing knowledge and deeply embedded belief systems.
This requires methodical training which, when practised extensively, conditions analysts to interpret organisational and industry phenomena through diverse and also unconventional lenses. This technique is unique to anthropology and is rooted in its ethnographic research practice. Broadly speaking, training in anthropology enables individuals to recognise the fluidity inherent in humanity and, perhaps quite paradoxically, harness the ability to “naturally” perceive the strange as familiar and the familiar as strange.
The Netflix case offers an industry-specific example. Traditionally regarded as an undesirable habit, Netflix found that binge-streaming was increasingly seen in a positive light by many of its viewers.
Furthermore, this activity was embraced openly with no feelings of shame or guilt. Although this was sufficient to convince Netflix that binge-watching has transcended its old stigma and become the “new normal”, the company was unable to understand the reasons for the shift, which it felt was necessary for enhancing user experience.
Its sophisticated data-based algorithm, while effective in content recommendations, offered little in unearthing deeper behavioural nuances. Despite its reputation as a digital innovator, Netflix turned to anthropology in search of a human-centric explanation.
Through close observations and prolonged engagements with binge watchers, ethnographers discovered the changing nature of “spoilers” in contemporary society.
Once seen as a social faux pas, the act of revealing climaxes and dramatic turns of popular television shows has now become a means for viewers to showcase social influence within their circles. Those who have raced through television shows command a position akin to that of opinion leaders, possessing the authority to influence less informed audiences through selective disclosure of show content.
As reputed anthropologist Grant McCracken notes, the impulse for revealing “spoilers” is more than just playful mischief, it is about the politics of daily life. However, the functioning of this process is highly subtle.
Most binge watchers are not aware of their inclination to find satisfaction in being early disseminators of new content, be it through word-of-mouth to family members or a more structured critique on social media. This latent desire for authority, paired with users’ ability to unilaterally control when and how much content is consumed, cultivates a sense of empowerment that erodes the old stereotypical “couch potato” image associated with binge-watching.
Essentially, Netflix’s ethnographic findings foregrounded viewers’ aspirations for social power. This emergent discourse on power dynamics offered an alternative explanation to the commonly held assumption that cliffhangers are chiefly responsible for binge-watching. With an expanded knowledge base, Netflix was able to leverage various insights for making informed decisions about their production and release strategies.
Netflix’s updated strategy of releasing episodes all at once was largely guided by ethnographic evidence. As observed, unlike most conventional research practices, anthropologists place as much emphasis on unsaid and hidden elements as they do on verbally reported data.
This is consistent with the anthropological guideline that verbal accounts do not always capture the true essence of human experiences. This is not to suggest that ethnographic research should take precedence over other methodologies. Rather there needs to be a greater appreciation of interdisciplinary approaches in confronting contemporary challenges.
This has been acknowledged by higher education institutions in the West, which have moved away from traditional silos and are now embracing the sciences-humanities hybrid model. This flexible curriculum equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the demands of the 21st-century workforce, aligning with the rapid pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and other digital advancements.
While some institutions go as far as offering standalone, integrated degrees (for example, MSc in Anthroengineering and MSc in Business and Organisational Anthropology), others such as Oxbridge encourage interdisciplinary learning by offering a myriad of major-minor cross-departmental course combinations to choose from.
At this junction, the latter would appear to be a cost-effective model for Malaysian institutions to emulate. Barring a select few public universities, anthropology courses are almost non-existent in our higher education landscape.
It is an investment that private institutions are reluctant to make, perhaps given the limited job prospects for graduates with a standalone anthropology degree. However, incorporating anthropology modules as core or optional units within the STEM or management studies would represent a positive step in producing creative thinkers.
Cultivating students with a broad range of skills will give them a competitive edge over their peers and help to ease the nation’s perennial problem of graduate employability.
This is the first instalment in a three-part series on Anthropologically Speaking. The writer is a recipient of the UK government’s Chevening Scholarship and holds a Master of Arts in Social Anthropology (Distinction) from the University of Manchester. He also has a Master of Science in Marketing and Business Analysis from the University of Edinburgh. An advocate of interdisciplinary studies, he has held academic, non-academic and consultancy positions at a few universities in Malaysia and India.
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