“AI Native,” College Graduates, “Essentially Illiterate”
August 19th, 2026Via: Futurism:
There’s a silent epidemic building in colleges and universities throughout the United States — and as you might imagine, it has everything to do with AI.
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Over the past few years, a veritable tidal wave of op eds, studies, and think pieces have flooded the internet with horror stories about the decline in literacy rates, social skills, and critical thinking abilities of the country’s college students. While there’s a kernel of truth that these factors had already been slowly dwindling prior to the widespread adoption of AI, the tech only seems to be accelerating the drop-off in real-life abilities, particularly among young people for whom it can serve as a cognitive crutch.
The state of higher education has rapidly deteriorated over the past few years, as many of today’s college students regularly offload their coursework to AI assistants like ChatGPT — a shortcut, educators say, that’s even impacting their ability to participate in face-to-face discussions.
And though universities have many purposes beyond simply preparing students for the workplace, that is one major function that they do undoubtedly serve. The results could be rocky: as Cal State Chico ethics professor Troy Jollimore told the New Yorker in 2025, “massive numbers of students are going to emerge from university with degrees, and into the workforce, who are essentially illiterate.”
Related: Silicon Valley Elite Brag About How Little Screen Time Their Children Are Allowed
