October 6, 2025
What Happens When Universities Offer a “Critical Embrace” of AI?
By Nic Wong
With platforms like Boston University’s “TerrierGPT,” the pressure for students to use AI is coming from colleges themselves, even as researchers warn of long-term consequences.
Often, when a college student receives an e-mail from their school during the summer—a message from the bookstore or a reminder about moving in—it is quickly glossed over. But when Quinn, a sophomore at Boston University, saw the letters “GPT” in their inbox in late July, they immediately took notice.
The e-mail was sent by the university’s “AI Development Accelerator” and the IT help center, and introduced TerrierGPT, a new artificial intelligence–powered chat platform that granted students access to the most widely used generative AI (GenAI) models.
Quinn, a graphic design and anthropology student in the College of Fine Arts, expressed skepticism about the school’s embrace of the new technology. On the Internet, they said, “AI is getting shoved down my throat every second.” But now, the pressure to use artificial intelligence would be coming from the university itself.
