Ditch the STEM safety net: Peter Thiel warns that AI poses a greater threat to technical roles than to creative thinkers

(SeaPRwire) –   During the 2010s, coding emerged as one of the most sought-after skills in the job market. The popularity of coding spread rapidly, with parents encouraging their children to switch from English majors to STEM degrees. Even former President Barack Obama advocated for learning to code; he also became the first president to write a line of code as part of the “Hour of Code”—an online initiative promoting Computer Science Education Week.

Conversely, English and liberal arts majors faced increasing scrutiny, with some labeling them “barista” degrees under the assumption that pursuing these fields would limit career opportunities to jobs in coffee shops.

However, the rise of AI is challenging these assumptions. This is precisely the view held by Palantir cofounder and billionaire Peter Thiel. In a resurfaced segment from a 2024 interview with economist Tyler Cowen, Thiel indicated that the favorability of STEM professions is declining.

“It appears much more challenging for individuals with math skills than for those with verbal skills,” he remarked.

Storytellers are in high demand in the job market

The billionaire’s remarks reflect a growing trend in today’s labor market. LinkedIn released a skills report earlier this year titled “LinkedIn Skills on the Rise 2026: The Fastest-Growing Skills in the U.S.,” which highlights the increasing demand for communication and creative thinking abilities. According to the report, communication, along with leadership and people management, ranks among the most sought-after skills in the current labor market. “Companies are progressively seeking exceptional communicators, as strong writing, clarity, and judgment remain critical,” a LinkedIn spokesperson stated. They noted that “storytelling” has become particularly desirable, with job postings mentioning “storytellers” doubling over the past year. In fact, some companies are offering over $1 million for storytellers and senior communications professionals. For example, Anthropic was recruiting for a head of communications with a $400,000 starting salary, while Netflix was offering between $656,000 and $1.2 million for a senior director of communications.

It is important to note that the report does not encourage discarding STEM diplomas. LinkedIn also identified several technical skills that are currently in high demand, including AI prompt engineering and data annotation. While these skills differ from the core focus of STEM degrees—as they center on training AI rather than building it—some AI prompt engineer positions do require programming knowledge in languages such as Python and JavaScript, along with a background in large language models. Nevertheless, the postings emphasize strong linguistic and creative skills to refine AI outputs, offering an average salary of $128,000 according to job platform Glassdoor.

As AI development continues to progress, many leaders and AI experts anticipate that the technology will significantly reshape the job market and, consequently, the most valued skills. In this context, certain math and other STEM skills risk becoming obsolete. Boris Cherny, creator of Anthropic’s Claude Code, has not written a single line of code since November (though he still reviews code generated by AI). Meanwhile, AI is increasingly penetrating fields traditionally occupied by STEM professionals, including basic programming and data analysis.

How the labor market is evolving in the AI era

Although the labor market has been particularly challenging for recent college graduates—exceeding the unemployment rate of all workers in 2022 and reaching 5.6% in 2025—some STEM-related careers exhibit especially high unemployment rates, according to recent data from the New York Federal Reserve. Computer engineering ranks as the major with the second-highest unemployment rate at 7.8%, following anthropology.

However, unemployment rates for certain STEM graduates remain below the average of 3.1% for all college graduates, including aerospace engineering at 2.2% and engineering technologies at 1.7%.

Nonetheless, during the 2024 interview, Thiel argued that even in STEM fields currently unaffected by AI automation, using mathematical proficiency as a prerequisite will become outdated due to AI advancements.

“If you aspire to attend medical school, we filter candidates through physics and calculus,” he stated. “As a neurosurgeon, I would not want someone performing brain surgery while mentally solving prime number factorizations.”

A version of this story was published on .com on Feb. 26, 2026.

More on the future of work:

• As AI reduces white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff claims that the sales department remains an active hiring area.
• Costco’s CEO asserts that technology “elevates” workers rather than replacing them—as echoed by leaders at IBM and Delta who place similar trust in human potential.
• Warren Buffett warns that “you’re giving up your potential” if you lack this one skill—and it has no relation to the stock market.