Funny but serious: Chen issues AI warning to graduates — Harvard Gazette

Speaking at Wednesday’s Class Day, Emmy Award-winning comedian Ronnie Chen couldn’t be more interested in encouraging graduates to master artificial intelligence to advance their future careers. Instead, he told the Class of 2026 to apply AI to medical and physics research, but never to use it as a substitute for creativity or critical thinking.

Chen leant into AI skepticism in colorful language during his remarks at Tercentenary Theater, citing a 2025 MIT study titled “Your Brain on ChatGPT” that found that over-reliance on language learning models can lead to cognitive debt.

“I came here to tell you that the mission of your generation is to destroy AI,” Chen said. “I know people who are sitting here right now saying, ‘Why not use AI to pioneer breakthroughs in medicine or physics?’… If that’s what you’re using AI for, it doesn’t matter to you. What I’m talking about is the accumulation of cognitive debt through overuse of large-scale language models… This is why you should be scared of AI.”

Mr Chen, who holds degrees in commerce and law from the University of Melbourne, has released three Netflix specials. His film credits include “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Kung Fu Panda 4.” He is a correspondent and rotating host on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

Mr. Chen mocked students for using AI to read and respond to emails. “Who else could do that? Me,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience. “If you can’t do that, how useless are you?”

Mr. Chen, who grew up in Singapore and spent part of his childhood in Manchester, New Hampshire, reminded his students that creativity is a deeply human endeavor. “Creating is fun,” he said. “Why would you want an AI to take that away from you? The best part of comedy is being able to figure out the puzzle pieces of a joke and gain self-esteem for accomplishing something difficult.”

“Whatever career you choose, don’t let AI take the fun out of it. The future battles of your generation won’t be humans vs. AI. That’s at least two months away. … It’s going to be people with substance versus people with shallow knowledge. It’s going to be people with mastery versus people with fake knowledge. It’s going to be people with taste versus people with lameness. I trust you’ll do what it takes to be on the right side of those battles.”

Class Day is an annual celebration of graduating students and includes student speeches and guest speakers invited by the class. In introducing Chen, Nicholas S. Karkanis ’26 emphasized the role of humor and comedy in highlighting the contradictions and absurdities of life.

“Comedy requires us to be curious and honest about what we’re seeing,” he said.

The event included a moment of silence in memory of Lakota Troak, a class member who passed away in January 2025 after a short illness. Harvard University Dean Danoff Dean David Deming and Harvard Alumni Association President-elect David Battatt also gave remarks.

In the end, Mr. Cheng asked students to see that “the offline world is better than the online world” and stop “chasing money.” The better the course, the more personal the course, he said.

“Follow your passion. For me, it was stand-up comedy. When you have a purpose and are doing what you love, you have fun every day, and that joy spreads to others.”