If you have tuned into any university graduation ceremonies lately, you have probably noticed a painfully awkward trend. Wealthy tech executives keep taking the podium to tell graduating seniors that they must surrender their futures to automation, only to get completely booed off the stage.
But The Daily Show correspondent Ronny Chieng finally figured out how to give a commencement address about technology without getting tomatoes chucked at his head. Serving as the keynote speaker for the Harvard College Class Day event on Wednesday, Chieng bypassed the usual corporate talking points, shredded his prepared notes, and launched into a blistering, expletive-filled takedown of artificial intelligence that had the Ivy League crowd roaring with approval.
Read more: Cannes Outrage After Journalist Tells Cast of South Korean Film “I Don’t Know the Rest of You”
Chieng did not hold back. After making a joke about university grades, the comedian directly targeted the tech industry’s favorite new plaything. “While we’re on the topic of A’s, by the way, can I just say: f**k AI, f**k AI, f**k AI,” Chieng told the cheering crowd of graduates.
Tearing up his pre-written speech on stage, he doubled down on the sentiment. “I’m so glad you agree. I prepared a completely different speech in case you guys turned on me, but I won’t be needing that any more. F**k AI. F**k it to death, alright? It’s stupid. It’s so stupid. Have you tried using it? It’s always wrong.”
The comedian clarified that he was not talking about specialised mathematical models used by researchers in physics or medicine. Instead, he took aim at the general public using large language models to automate basic human communication, referencing a 2025 MIT study regarding how over-reliance on automation creates a massive “cognitive debt” in users.
“I’m here to tell you the mission of your generation is to destroy AI,” Chieng said. “Kill it. AI is just going to end up making mediocre people dumber. Have you heard how dumb people brag about how they use AI? They’re always like, ‘Hey, did you know that AI can now read my email, summarize it, and draft a response?’ Yeah, you know who else can do that? Me. I can do that. You can’t do that? How useless are you?”
Beyond the jokes, Chieng shifted into a more serious tone, arguing that shortcuts kill personal growth and human style. He warned the graduating seniors that bypassing the struggle of writing, thinking, or programming robs individuals of the actual reward of accomplishment.
“What they’re missing is this: the creating is the fun part,” Chieng said, a sentiment that echoed recent comments by Hollywood writer Seth Rogen, who called AI-generated creative videos “stupid dogshit” that ruins the writing process. “The best part of comedy is figuring out the puzzle pieces of a joke and getting the self-regard from having accomplished a difficult thing. Please don’t let AI rob you of the fun part.”
Chieng concluded his address by framing the immediate future not as a classic sci-fi war against killer robots, but as a cultural battle between real skill and cheap imitation. He urged the graduates to stay focused on the grind rather than the shortcut.
“Your generation’s upcoming battle won’t be humans against AI,” Chieng noted. “It’s going to be people with substance versus people with shallow knowledge. It’s going to be mastery versus faking it. It’s going to be people with good taste versus tacky. For the love of God, help me destroy these machines first.”
View this post on Instagram
