AI is making college students sound the same in class | CNN

EDITOR’S NOTE: The writer is a junior at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and spoke to her peers about their experience with AI usage in class for this article. At this point in her senior year at Yale University, Amanda knows that many of her classmates turn to AI chatbots to write papers and other homework assignments. But she started noticing something bizarre in her smaller seminar classes: Her classmates sit behind laptops with polished talking points and arguments, but the conversations that follow often fall flat across subjects. In one class, “the conversation came to a halt, and I looked to my left, and I saw someone typing ferociously on their laptop, asking (a chatbot) the question my professor just asked about the reading,” Amanda told CNN. Amanda, and two other students — Jessica and Sophia — attend Yale University. They requested anonymity for fear of retribution from their classmates and professors, so CNN agreed to change their names for this article. Gen Z is outsourcing hard conversations to AI. Why it matters Amanda said she was taken aback. Until that day, she didn’t realize that her peers were using chatbots in class and sharing what it s

Apr 4, 2026 → Apr 4, 2026