How students are talking about AI
On campus, students are asking practical and philosophical questions about learning and life in the age of AI. Here’s how to host a conversation on your campus.
In March, we gathered a group of 30 undergraduates in the U.S. and asked them how they were using ChatGPT. We called it the ChatGPT Lab. After a few sessions, it became clear to us that the next generation of young adults are asking very big questions.
Together we explored practical questions about how students use ChatGPT in their studies and daily life, as well as deeper philosophical ones about which skills and knowledge matter most in the age of AI. In the process, the Lab became a shared space for students to see how their peers are using AI and to reflect on how it is shaping their own lives.
Students found these group discussions so valuable that they raised their hands to bring the Lab experience to their own campuses. We compiled the top 100 chats from the ChatGPT Lab into a resource they could use to help start the conversation.
On a sunny afternoon this fall, Monica Adams, a junior at UCLA, ran around the quad and approached people in between classes offering them copies of the 100 Chats book as a way to start the conversation. “Even people who had preconceived notions about AI and ChatGPT were open to talking,” she told us. “In the span of 30 minutes, I feel like I learned more about the AI usage of other college students than from anything on the internet.”
At the University of Pennsylvania, Praja Tickoo, Milo Shan, and Harsha Ravindran hosted an “AI on Campus” event and simply asked peers: How do you use AI? A group of 15 students enjoyed the conversation so much that they went on to host six weeks of roundtable discussions on themes of AI in study, creativity, career, and more.
Students on 45 campuses so far have given out copies of 100 Chats and hosted Lab-style conversations. Today we’re inviting students and educators to join us in bringing the ChatGPT Lab to your campus.
How to bring the ChatGPT Lab to your campus
Fill out a short form to let us know you’re interested. We’ve found that the best hosts are students and educators who are deeply curious about others, excited by AI’s potential, and motivated to engage their peers in conversations about what a future with AI could look like.
We’ll email you a guide with templates for hosting conversations and — if you’re in the U.S. or Canada — some of our limited-edition copies of the 100 Chats book written by and for ChatGPT Lab students. These will help you spark conversations.
Host a conversation on campus. The easiest way is to just hand out books one-on-one. Or you can choose to be more ambitious and gather a group for a bigger conversation.
Hello everyone, I’m a professor at Parsons School of Design where I teach Economics & Ethics of Sustainable Design and Global Professional Practices. Over the past few years, I’ve been integrating generative AI into my teaching in a way that helps students think more critically, not less. My classroom uses a full ecosystem of tools, ChatGPT, market data platforms, scenario modeling, design thinking frameworks, to help students understand how emerging technologies shape global systems, creativity, sustainability, and professional practice.
I joined this forum to learn from other educators experimenting at the intersection of pedagogy and AI. I’m also excited to share what’s been working in my courses, particularly around reflective learning, student agency, and building contextual reasoning skills with AI.
Looking forward to connecting and contributing to this community.
An amazing experience, can't wait for more students and educators to join the conversation!