By: Danna Tabachnik
Communications and humanities majors have always been the punchlines in higher education conversations. Students majoring in science and engineering were always treated as geniuses, business majors were looked at as the next Bezos, and tech-focused students believed they would be safe. Communications majors? Well, they were often dismissed as taking it easy with broad, soft and subjective knowledge that barely qualified for a long-term career.
No amount of prerequisites could have prepared anyone for the literacy crisis and AI boom that’s flipped the workplace on its head.
Right now, AI is reshaping workflows, misinformation is flooding digital platforms and companies are struggling to connect with increasingly skeptical audiences. But one thing has become clear: technical efficiency alone is not enough. Businesses need people who can think critically, understand nuance, build trust, translate complexity and communicate with actual humans.
In other words? Everyone needs professional communicators.
We’re In A Communication Crisis
The modern workforce isn’t just facing an AI boom, economic uncertainty or geopolitical issues. We’re also navigating a literacy and media crisis.
With 24/7 access to information–factual or not–everyone is overwhelmed by the constant noise. Outside of the growing skepticism of corporate messaging, mistrust of employers’ loyalty and the growing divide between junior and upper management levels, corporate culture and community is no longer a priority.
Recent studies show that 21% of adults in the US are functionally illiterate, with 54% reading below a 6th-grade level. Any information presented is taken at face value. It’s not just reading comprehension; it’s also the ability to internalize and conceptualize information for oneself. As more AI-generated content floods the internet, being able to weed out authenticity and human-first content is all the more difficult.
Creating an advantage for people trained to communicate and ask the right questions. Communicators think about audience, context, interpretation, emotional response and how things can be misunderstood before coming to any conclusions.
The long-standing pun about assumptions rings true, especially when not taking the time to think critically about the information presented to you. Actually, the ability to think critically is business-critical.
AI Can Generate Human Content. It Can’t Replace Human Judgement.
AI isn’t going anywhere and we all have to adapt to how it’s changing our work. AI accelerated research helps organize research, ideates eye-catching headlines and streamlines workflows. If communicators aren’t using it, they’re falling behind.
But AI isn’t a strategy where communication is concerned.
AI generates language, but it cannot generate the lived experience, intuition, empathy or cultural awareness the way humans can. It does not understand timing, emotional nuance, ethical complexity or the unspoken dynamics behind a conversation.
Anyone working in PR, journalism, marketing or corporate communications knows the difference between content that sounds correct and messaging that truly resonates. We joke about being able to spot AI a mile away, not because we’re worried about our jobs or our work, but because we know lazy, robotic work when we see it.
A crisis response requires emotional intelligence. Executive thought leadership requires perspective. Brand trust requires consistency and credibility over time. Media relations requires relationship-building, discernment and adaptability. Internal communications requires understanding human behavior and organizational dynamics.
These are deeply human functions.
And ironically, the more AI-generated content floods the market, the more valuable genuine human communication becomes.
Communications Professionals Are Translators
One of the most underrated functions of communications work is translation. Not language translation (although hit me up if you need any Russian language translation) – idea translation.
Communicators translate technical concepts into accessible narratives. We help leadership communicate vision, turn data into stories people pay attention to, bridge the gap between business and customers, executives and employees, brands and communities.
As industries become more complex, we become even more essential.
A cybersecurity company may have world-class technology, but if it cannot explain why it matters, trust it or understand it, adoption suffers. A healthcare company may have breakthrough innovation, but if patients feel confused or disconnected, communication becomes the barrier. A startup may have disruptive ideas, but without strategic messaging, visibility and credibility are difficult to build.
We take complex ideas and turn them into a story people connect with. We create humanity behind the specificity. We help you stand out.
Communicators Are Not Just Talking–And The Workforce is Catching On
One of the biggest misconceptions about communications work is that it is instinctive or easy—that anyone can do it because everyone communicates every day.
But professional communication has infrastructure.
It shapes how organizations respond to crises, how employees understand leadership, how customers perceive value and how brands build long-term trust. Poor communication can damage reputation overnight while a crisis plan can save thousands of jobs and make history.
We’ve seen firsthand the importance of having a team of communications professionals ready when crisis strikes–take Wasserman or Astronomer. As the internet took control of the narrative, comms teams worked overtime to make moves that changed the trajectory of the business.
For years, efficiency and automation dominated workplace conversations. But now many employers are rediscovering the importance of skills that are harder to automate: Critical thinking, writing, storytelling, ethical reasoning, persuasion, context analysis, audience awareness and interpersonal communication can’t be programmed.
These foundational humanities skills matter because business problems are no longer just technical. They are human problems: trust, reputation, clarity, leadership, culture and connection.
The companies that succeed in the next decade will not simply be the ones using AI the fastest. They will be the ones that know how to communicate effectively in a world where audiences are exhausted, skeptical and overwhelmed.
The Future Belongs to Human-Centered Communicators
The rise of AI highlights the need for communicators who know how to think strategically, communicate ethically and create meaningful human connection.
The future workforce will likely belong to people who can combine technology fluency with deeply human skills.
The professionals who thrive won’t necessarily be the ones who can produce the most content the fastest. They’ll be the ones who can make people feel understood, informed and connected in a noisy digital environment.
And that’s something no algorithm will ever be able to master.
Interested in learning more about how we use AI in our daily work to ensure the human connection doesn’t disappear? Reach out.