STEM has no purpose. We give it purpose, however.

This is true of literally everything.

Gold, money, has no value, we just give it value.

Yes, stem has little value because people don't value it. No, that doesn't mean things can be magically valuable at the flip of a dime, barring some revelation in technology.

The scope of information is in our pockets, but I hesitate to call it knowledge.

And that information, that knowledge, will no more come from the internet than it will come from teachers. Humanities courses have no special traits, being a person going into a class and listening to lectures, versus learning things and expanding one's view by browsing the internet and being sure to access a wide range of information.

it is a mistake to think that the expertise and talent brought to bear to define the boundaries of one pursuit is any less than that of another.

Except there is a big difference between the expertise and talent of "the humanities" and the engineering degrees.

Film, art, writing, and so on, I have heard time and time again that college for these things is a waste of time, and youtube/the internet, the popularity of so many with so little education, but the right mind, proves it.

Can these schools be good? Sure. However, they aren't good unless you are already good, and even then they are only good for those with a wealthy family that can afford the risk.

Little value, high cost. Humanities are not worth it in the modern day. Study and value can exist, and does exist, outside the walls of a university.