Feature Column-NYCU Chief Strategy Officer Haydn Chen: Navigating the AI Era with Soft Power-National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
Source: https://www.nycu.edu.tw/nycu/en/app/news/view?module=headnews&id=35088&serno=f2587c42-fc61-46df-8a6c-028f56656d84 Parent: https://www.nycu.edu.tw/nycu/en/app/news/list?module=headnews&id=35088
- Publish Date：2026-03-11
NYCU Chief Strategy Officer Haydn Chen: Navigating the AI Era with Soft Power
At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of work and education, NYCU strategist Haydn Chen argues that the most important skills students need are those that machines cannot easily replicate. (Photo credit: Central News Agency)
By Central News Agency\ Translated and Edited by Chance Lai
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Rethinking Education in the Age of AI\ \ On the day of the interview, Haydn Chen, Chief Strategy Officer of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), walked briskly into a campus meeting room, greeting the interview team with energetic warmth.\ \ Dressed sharply in a suit, Chen took out a document he had prepared for the reporters in advance. It contained outlines and charts generated after he asked a generative AI system to analyze ten of his past essays.\ \ A materials science Ph.D. who has worked at universities across Taiwan, the United States, Hong Kong, and Macau, Chen said with a smile that he now interacts with AI almost every day.\ \ “In the past, I might ask an English secretary to draft a letter,” he said. “It would take three days, and the result might not be exactly what I wanted. Now AI can generate it in two seconds—and I can keep revising it.”\ \ For Chen, AI has become an indispensable assistant for improving productivity.\ \ Yet the rapid rise of artificial intelligence has also raised profound uncertainties about the future. The technology is already reshaping labor markets and replacing certain types of work, prompting Chen—who has long advocated liberal arts education—to reconsider the role of universities in the AI era.\ \ “Four years ago, computer science was one of the hottest majors in the United States,” Chen said. “But four years later, some graduates can’t find jobs because of the AI wave. That was unimaginable—but it’s happening.”\ \ The question, he said, is no longer simply what students should study, but what capabilities will remain valuable in an unpredictable future.\ \ His answer: soft power—the human abilities that allow individuals to navigate the unknown.\ \ Beyond Technical Skills: Learning to Master AI\ \ By “soft power,” Chen refers to a broad range of capabilities beyond disciplinary expertise.\ \ In a rapidly evolving digital and AI-driven world, he believes human value increasingly lies in qualities that machines cannot easily replicate.\ \ He jokingly described large language models as “polite parrots that can speak nonsense with great confidence.” While AI can produce fluent responses, it may simply repeat existing information—or even present outdated or inaccurate content.\ \ To interact effectively with AI, Chen said, people must cultivate lifelong learning across disciplines and develop strong critical thinking skills.\ \ “Only then can you truly command AI, instead of being misled by it,” he said.\ \ Decision-making in AI-mediated environments also requires the ability to construct meaning from complex information and to understand broader social, political, and cultural contexts. Ethical judgment and social responsibility are equally essential for designing and deploying AI responsibly.\ \ Creativity and imagination, Chen added, allow humans to move beyond routine content generated by machines and highlight uniquely human contributions.\ \ Empathy and emotional intelligence are perhaps the most irreplaceable of all.\ \ “Can AI help you fall in love?” Chen joked. “Probably never.”\ \ Liberal Education as a Way of Life\ \ For Chen, cultivating soft power has long been at the core of liberal education.\ \ He emphasized that liberal education is not simply a collection of courses but an entire way of structuring student life—one that includes interdisciplinary learning, close interactions between faculty and students, peer engagement, residential experiences, and small-class instruction.\ \ “In a general education model, the four years of university are not meant to make you an expert,” Chen said. “They are meant to expose you to many fields and help you develop the ability to learn independently.”\ \ In Taiwan and across Asia, he noted, many people expect university graduates to emerge with a clearly defined specialization.
\ \ \ “If someone graduates without a narrow professional focus, people may think the university failed to train them,” he said. “But comprehensive universities are not vocational schools. Our mission is to cultivate well-rounded students with strong soft power. If you truly want to become a specialist, you can pursue a master’s or doctoral degree.”\ \ Chen also encourages students to live on campus—or at least near it—because learning outside the classroom can be just as important as formal coursework.\ \ After accounting for classes, meals, and sleep, students still have roughly 60 hours of free time each week, he said.\ \ “How students use that time matters,” Chen said. “Strength is built through time and diverse participation.”\ \ Universities, therefore, have a responsibility to create environments and opportunities that help students develop soft power.\ \ Chen traces the origins of liberal education to Britain, where universities such as Oxford and Cambridge combine academic departments with residential colleges. While departments oversee disciplinary training, colleges bring together students from diverse fields and provide living spaces, mentorship, and community activities.\ \ During his tenure as president of Tunghai University from 2004 to 2012, Chen established a residential liberal arts college. Later, as vice rector of the University of Macau, he expanded the system with institutional support, placing more than 6,000 students into ten residential colleges as part of a campus-wide liberal education model.\ \ Soft Power as a GPS for Life\ \ Today’s younger generation often pursues speed and efficiency, and media consumption habits have become increasingly fast-paced. Some observers question whether liberal education—which requires long-term cultivation—can still appeal to students.\ \ Chen believes the answer lies in embracing technology rather than resisting it.\ \ Artificial intelligence, he said, can serve as a powerful learning tool, enabling students to explore knowledge more quickly and broadly.\ \ For example, many online platforms now offer virtual tools to help students practice speaking and communication skills.\ \ Chen also encourages students to use generative AI for writing and research—but with an important condition: they must actively engage with the process.\ \ Starting with an initial prompt, students should repeatedly refine their instructions, add their own ideas, and engage in deeper dialogue with the system. Only through this iterative process can the final work truly reflect the creator’s own thinking.\ \ New technologies, Chen emphasized, are like double-edged swords.\ \ “Information can be obtained quickly,” he said. “But information is not the same as knowledge.”\ \ Knowledge requires verification, the pursuit of truth, and the willingness to put belief into action.\ \ Rather than rushing to provide answers for students facing an uncertain future, Chen hopes to equip them with the tools to chart their own paths.\ \ Soft power, he said, can serve as a kind of GPS for life, guiding students through an unknown world shaped by artificial intelligence.\ \ Please refer to the original text (Mandarin) for details.\ \ NYCU Chief Strategy Officer Haydn Chen speaks in an interview about the importance of cultivating soft power in the AI era.(Photo credit: Central News Agency)
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