Ronny Chieng Tells Harvard Grads to 'Destroy AI' in Commencement Speech
Comedian Ronny Chieng urged Harvard's Class of 2026 to 'destroy AI' during his commencement speech, contrasting with other pro-AI graduation speakers who were booed. Chieng joked that the mission of their generation is to kill AI, referencing Terminator 2, and warned against 'cognitive debt' from excessive use of large language models. He cited a 2025 MIT study published on arXiv. Chieng argued that AI will make mediocre people dumber and urged graduates to preserve the joy of mastery and creativity in their professions. His speech received cheers, unlike Scott Borchetta, Eric Schmidt, and Gloria Caufield, who faced backlash for tone-deaf pro-AI addresses. Cornell professor Sarah Kreps noted that tech executives are not reading the room.
Key facts
- Ronny Chieng addressed Harvard Class of 2026 at commencement.
- Chieng said the generation's mission is to 'destroy AI' and 'kill it'.
- He referenced Terminator 2: Judgment Day in his speech.
- Chieng warned against 'cognitive debt' from large language models.
- He cited a 2025 MIT study published on arXiv.
- Other speakers like Scott Borchetta, Eric Schmidt, and Gloria Caufield were booed for pro-AI speeches.
- Cornell professor Sarah Kreps commented that tech executives are not reading the room.
- Chieng urged graduates to prioritize mastery and good taste over shallow knowledge.
Entities
Artists
- Ronny Chieng
Institutions
- Harvard University
- The Daily Show
- MIT
- Cornell University
- Big Machine Records
- MTSU
- UCF
- The Guardian
- NBC News
- The New York Times
- Tennessean
- arXiv
Locations
- Cambridge, United States
- Los Angeles, United States
- California, United States