THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO will prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its “fundamental” social science classes beginning this fall. The move was first reported in Chicago Maroon—the university's independent student newspaper—that received the decision in a memo from the Social Sciences Collegiate Division (SSCD).
The social science core, like the other eight academic areas, is required by the university's general education program for undergraduate students. It is a series of three courses typically completed in the fall quarter (late-August to mid-December) of students' 2nd year, following completion of requirements for the humanities and writing cores. Students are offered a variety of social sciences sequences, but are typically expected to follow the same sequence after enrolling in one.
The new policy is based on a “strong consensus” that the sequences or course-tracks are to be used as learning spaces without AI, explains a memo from SSCD Master Jenny Trinitapoli. “This new policy reflects a strong consensus that our (University of Chicago’s) sequences are best understood as a pedagogical setting without AI. Although practices have varied course-by-course in recent years, in academic year 2027 sequences are collectively designed to be taught as ‘analog’ courses,” the memo stated.
The new policy dictates that students must attend in-person classes and bars them from recording class discussions and lectures. Further, classrooms are designated to be “device-free spaces” with laptops, cell phones, and wearable AI devices prohibited. Students must also complete assignments independently without the assistance of AI tools.
Professors too are not exempted from this policy. They are forbidden from grading students’ assignments using language learning models (LLMs), unless they disclose and validate it against authentic human grading.
Chicago University has previously implemented similar measures to curb the usage of technology in classrooms and in learning. Back in July 2026, its Law School placed a ban of using devices for first-year students. This was in par with the institution’s initiative of “Rethinking Legal Education in the AI Era” — aimed at teaching students to think with, without, and about AI — which included a complete restriction on usage of phones, tablets, and laptops.
Backing the initiative, Paul Alivisatos, President of the University of Chicago, stated that this technology restriction will promote “independent thought process” amongst students, while keeping them prepared about the dynamic world of technology.
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Paul continued that the rationale behind restricting the use of technology is not just banning AI. Instead, it will prompt students to protect the “Socratic method” of dialogue. This method involves professors using “question-based” dialogues that dissect legal theories and principles instead of simply lecturing. Such type of dialogue and reasoning is essential for students in the field of law and would prepare them for life and career in the courtroom.
“We think this kind of exchange should happen without it being intermediated by machines,” Adam Chilton, Dean of UChicago Law, told American news publication Inside Higher Ed. “Excessive use of AI in law classrooms also undermines the value of such an exercise: where you are put on the spot and forced to think, a student quietly consulting a chatbot for solutions defeats the purpose,” Chilton continued.
University of California, Berkeley, is another higher education institution that has banned AI for students. In May 2026, the university adopted a strict default ban on student artificial intelligence use, barring students from using AI tools to conceptualize, outline, draft, revise, or translate any graded work, and bans AI use entirely during exams.
(Edited by Agniva Ray)
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