As businesses strive to integrate AI into almost all sectors, some university students are reacting with strong resistance.
At least three college graduation events this month saw graduates expressing strong disapproval of speakers who supported artificial intelligence. On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance discussed these incidents during a speech at the U.S. Air Force Academy, recognizing the increasing opposition to AI.
At a minimum of five campuses, students have established anti-AI organizations, bringing together fellow students to promote a reduction in the rapid advancement of the technology.
The resistance highlights an increasing gap between business leaders' confidence in AI and students' concerns regarding its effects on employment, innovation, and analytical skills.
Learning involves grappling with and analyzing the material," noted Paul Webster, a sophomore majoring in computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. "If you rely on AI for this — something professors were advising students to do — it significantly hinders your true comprehension.
NBC News interviewed seven students from various universities nationwide, including Webster, who reported observing their classmates using AI to take shortcuts in their studies, often with the support of some instructors.
A survey carried out in October by Gallup and the Lumina FoundationA survey involving more than 3,500 college students revealed that 57% of U.S. college students utilize AI for their academic work at least once per week, while 21% use it on a daily basis. Students reported that they primarily use AI to assist with understanding their course material and verifying answers on homework tasks.
The rapid growth of AI in recent years has prompted some students to form their own campus groups to resist its progress. PauseAI US, a nationwide organization focused on halting the development of the most advanced AI systems until they are safely implemented, currently has five chapters at various universities, as reported by the organization.
The executive director, Holly Elmore, stated that she has noticed an increasing concern among students regarding the potential risks of current AI advancements and their rapid pace. According to her, chapter leaders believe that schools have placed "so much pressure to simply give up any sense of morality or integrity when it comes to writing your own words and completing your own work."
"Students feel as though their lives have become a mess, their futures are in disarray, and they seek out things that provide them with purpose, only for that to be suppressed as well," Elmore said.
The organization's campus groups establish their own guidelines and initiatives, such as promoting understanding of the dangers posed by AI or supporting legislative actions aimed at controlling major AI corporations.
Nickolas Spiliotopoulos, a senior majoring in political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and leader of the university's PauseAI US chapter, mentioned that his group focuses on open and honest conversations regarding the effects of AI.
Several members, he stated, "don't wish for AI to override our academic, perhaps our political, or maybe our thinking processes."
"We aim to ensure it is regulated in a way that benefits all and does not replace our essential thinking abilities," he stated, noting that approximately a dozen students are consistently part of the club.
In addition to campus organizations seeking to halt AI development, dozens of other groups have emerged to assist students in discussing and addressing technical AI safety research on campuses across...Georgetown Universityto Washington, D.C.University of Washington.
In the meantime, several of America's leading AI companies have also made their presence known on university campuses. For instance, Anthropic supports campus organizations designed to increase understanding of its Claude AI offerings and build relationships "with students who view AI as a means to enhance human potential, rather than substitute it."
Several university students have also voiced worries that AI is diminishing the significance of their favorite pastimes, along with its reported effects on employment opportunities. Certain individuals mentioned they still experience pressure to adopt the technology despite their own reservations about artificial intelligence.
I just have a general feeling among all of us that AI is being pushed onto us," said Zoe Kaufman, who recently graduated from Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia, with a psychology degree. "These days, the school is pushing us to download various AIs and use them, and it just seems like it's approaching everyone's jobs, just at different speeds.
Kaufman also mentioned that some university staff appeared overly optimistic about the technology. When she sought assistance in creating a resume from her university's career center, Kaufman stated she was told to simply input her details into ChatGPT.
A robot will be reading your application anyway, so have one write it," the advisor told her, according to Kaufman, who described the advice as "distorted.
Kimberly Aron, a graduate student at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, expressed comparable worries regarding the compulsory integration of AI in academic settings.
"In some ways, we feel compelled to use AI almost against our will, as if there's something choking us," she said. "You need to understand this; if you don't, you'll be left behind," she said.
Aron, 37, mentioned that students are perplexed by school rules that both aim to limit AI usage in classrooms and encourage them to develop their skills in this area. As a student studying data analysis, she expressed concern that much of what she is learning in Excel, SQL, Tableau, and Python may become outdated before she joins the workforce.
Daniel Liddle, an assistant professor of English at Western Kentucky University, instructs students from various humanities and STEM disciplines. He noted that he has observed "more eye-rolling" when AI is brought up in his classes.
I believe many of my students occasionally feel drained by the AI discussion," Liddle remarked, "and they miss the original purpose of their enrollment, which is studying their field of interest.
However, some people believe that views on AI often lean towards extremes on either side — tech executives promote it as a universal answer, while opponents of AI are ignoring the issue.
Jeffrey Kang, a recent graduate from the University of Southern California who currently works as a software engineer at Meta, mentioned that he can see why some people hope AI doesn't succeed and that a future controlled by automation seems "quite bleak" to him as well. However, he pointed out that this perspective overlooks the advantages of utilizing the technology in meaningful and practical ways.
I believe it's a rather fatalistic perspective," Kang stated. "There isn't one person at Meta who would say, 'Oh, I don't use AI, like, I don't use Claude Code, it's not helpful.' And I think this applies to other major tech companies as well.
The head of UCSB's PauseAI group, Spiliotopoulos, noted that even students who are doubtful about the technology still see its capacity to benefit society.
What I observe most is a rising feeling that artificial intelligence is being created without sufficient regulation, and that's what people are concerned about," he stated. "It's not just negative; it's not just positive. Similar to many aspects of life, there's complexity.
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