[INTERVIEW] LSE says global challenges in AI era demand stronger social sciences, not just STEM

UK university focuses research, teaching on AI's societal impact rather than technology itself

Larry Kramer, president and vice chancellor of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) / Courtesy of LSE

As universities worldwide navigate an era shaped by artificial intelligence, demographic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty, The Korea Times is interviewing leading university presidents across the globe to examine how institutions are redefining education, research and international collaboration. The series is supported by the Press Promotion Fund of the Korea Press Foundation.

LONDON — As the global race for artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates, universities are pouring unprecedented investment into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) argues that the defining challenges of the AI age will not be solved by technology alone.

Instead, the world's greatest challenges — from AI governance and climate change to inequality and declining public trust — will ultimately demand stronger social sciences.

"All of the important issues and challenges around AI are social science problems," Larry Kramer, president and vice chancellor of LSE, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times at the school's campus. "The technology creates possibilities. Whether those possibilities become benefits or risks depends entirely on the choices society makes."

Rather than joining the global race to produce more AI engineers, Kramer argued that universities should focus on the disciplines that determine how the technology is governed and applied in society.

"Figuring out how to get the benefits of AI while avoiding its risks is a matter of economics, law, politics, sociology and psychology," he said. "The future of AI isn't simply about building better technology. It's about understanding how society will use it."

LSE is putting that philosophy into practice by investing in research on how emerging technologies will shape society.

The university is preparing to launch the Global Institute for Future Technologies and Society, bringing together experts in economics, law, politics, sociology, psychology and public policy to examine issues ranging from AI governance and regulation to its impact on democracy, labor markets and public trust.

Rather than competing with technology-focused institutions, Kramer said LSE's strategy is to leverage its longstanding strength in the social sciences to address the societal questions raised by AI.

"What matters is not the technology itself, but the choices societies make about how to govern and use it," Kramer said.

The London School of Economics and Political Science sign is seen on the university's campus in London in June. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-hyun

Kramer warned against equating future competitiveness with producing ever more engineers and scientists. While technological breakthroughs have transformed modern society, he argued, they have also helped fuel some of its greatest challenges, from declining trust in information to climate change and widening inequality.

The challenges, he said, demand solutions beyond just technological innovation.

"If we don't solve the problems of trust, climate and inequality, nothing else is going to matter," Kramer said. "The answers to those problems are in economics, sociology, law and politics."

He also argued that many governments still approach higher education through a 20th-century lens, prioritizing scientific advancement while overlooking the growing need for graduates who can navigate the economic, legal and social consequences of new technologies.

"It's never been more important to train people who can think about economics, law and society while we continue inventing new technologies," he said.

Students walk across the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) campus in London. Courtesy of LSE

Bridging technology with social sciences

LSE is also expanding interdisciplinary and international partnerships to bridge the social sciences and technology. The university is exploring joint postgraduate degree programs with leading STEM institutions, including Imperial College London and Stanford University, allowing students to combine disciplines such as economics with computer science.

It is also in discussions with Korea's Kyungpook National University on several collaborative initiatives, primarily focused on AI, as part of its broader effort to build complementary partnerships with universities around the world.

Kramer said LSE has maintained close international ties for decades, including longstanding partnerships with leading Chinese universities such as Tsinghua, Peking and Fudan, and is now looking to deepen collaboration with Korean institutions.

"Rather than pursuing partnerships based solely on STEM strength, LSE seeks universities whose expertise complements its own, with collaborations ranging from joint research and student exchanges to faculty mobility and dual degree programs," he added.

Beyond academia, LSE is also expanding partnerships with industry through joint research, internships, faculty secondments and collaborative programs, arguing that future innovation will increasingly emerge from collaboration outside higher education.

"We're looking at the whole array of partnerships," Kramer said. "The best collaborations won't necessarily just be with other universities. They may well be with industry."

Internally, the university has adopted what he describes as an "experimental" approach to AI integration. Rather than prescribing how faculty should use the technology, the university has introduced broad ethical guidelines covering issues such as privacy and data protection while allowing room for experimentation as AI continues to evolve.

"We don't think anyone actually knows all the answers yet," Kramer said. "Where there are clear boundaries around ethics, privacy and data protection, we set them. Beyond that, we want people to experiment."

To support the approach, LSE has expanded access to leading AI tools across campus. Under agreements with Anthropic and Microsoft, all students have access to Claude and all staff can use Microsoft Copilot, with a similar partnership with Google DeepMind under discussion.

The university is also building a digital skills laboratory designed to bring together students, faculty and industry partners to experiment and collaborate using advanced AI tools.

To accelerate AI adoption in teaching, LSE has launched a fellowship program that gives faculty members time and institutional support to redesign their courses. Fellows receive funding to step away from teaching temporarily while providing guidance from education specialists on integrating AI into the classroom.

In return, participants are required to publish their redesigned course materials and explain their approach on an open-source platform, creating what Kramer hopes will become a growing global repository of AI teaching practices.

Rather than promoting a single blueprint, the initiative is designed to encourage early experimentation and make it easier for other faculty members to follow.

"How to use AI in teaching will be different for every discipline, every class and every teacher," Kramer said. "It's a way of encouraging the kind of bottom-up experimentation that's going to be necessary."

Ultimately, Kramer said LSE's goal is not to steer students toward particular careers but to equip them to navigate increasingly complex global challenges, whether in government, business or the nonprofit sector.

He highlighted that universities have a responsibility not only to generate ideas that help society solve emerging problems, but also to cultivate graduates capable of evaluating competing perspectives and making informed judgments in an uncertain world.

"Our responsibility is to teach them how to think, not what to think," Kramer said.