This is a question that we are increasingly being asked by prospective students (and their parents!) at open days. It is certainly a valid question when AI seems to be making all sorts of people question how and why we do certain things. But it is based on a misunderstanding, or partial understanding, of what historians do and what history students are being trained to do. 1. AI can tell us WHAT happened but not WHY (or, importantly, why it matters) History is not about knowing when the Crimean War happened, or who was Prime Minister in 1957. Although knowing these types of ‘facts’ is certainly useful, this […]