University President Paul Alivisatos wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Sunday that a Core requirement related to computational thinking could be introduced “within the next year.”

Alivisatos also confirmed that in-class technology and the use of artificial intelligence will be prohibited in humanities Core classes in addition to social sciences (sosc) ones. The Maroon reported the ban for sosc classes last month. No policy for civilization studies, the other writing- and discussion-based set of Core courses, has been announced.

The suggestion of a new Core requirement follows internal efforts to create a new Division of Computational and Mathematical Sciences. According to an October 2025 faculty report, the establishment of the division would present “an opportunity to explore ways to further integrate computational thinking into the mathematical sciences sequence in the Core.” A vote on whether to establish the new division was delayed in June amid sharp faculty pushback.

The op-ed focused on methods for educators to responsibly prepare students to enter an increasingly AI-dominated workplace. Alivisatos endorsed a curriculum rooted in “human-centered thinking” that later incorporates an understanding of AI tools. “Our students should learn during their time with us to be ethical, skeptical and ambitious about the role of AI in their education and their lives,” he wrote. “All students at UChicago should learn to think both with and without machines.”

The most recent addition to the Core Curriculum was the one-quarter Inquiry, Conversation, Argument (ICA) first-year writing course, which began replacing the writing seminar model last fall and will become a prerequisite for sosc Core courses beginning in academic year 2027–28. ICA is one AI-free piece of what Alivisatos considers “the true struggle” inherent in writing, he wrote.

The University has introduced several new initiatives around AI in recent months, all of which have emphasized the ability of instructors, departments, and divisions to set their own policies around acceptable AI use. As of last week, students and faculty have free access to Claude Enterprise, a collection of large language models, through a formal University partnership with Anthropic. To create a Claude account, students are required to complete a Canvas module about responsible generative AI use.

UChicago’s Law School unveiled a new AI policy in July which generally banned technology use across 1L classrooms. As students progress to upper-level courses, AI will be integrated into classrooms with increasing flexibility. Students will also face a new oral discussion requirement for substantial research papers.

The University understands its approach to AI, Alivisatos wrote, “not as an either/or problem, but as one for which the sequence of intellectual and social development should dictate the incorporation of AI after building a strong foundation of human-centered thinking and learning in community.”

“Decisions about when and how AI is used across the University have been and will continue to be driven by our academic mission and principles,” a University spokesperson wrote in an email to the Maroon.

They added that “instructors can contact the Chicago Center for Teaching and Learning for guidance on how generative AI tools intersect with course design and student learning. The newly appointed Faculty Committee for AI and Academic Life and a distinct faculty advisory committee on AI and Education will also help inform the University’s implementation of AI tools and its approach to teaching and learning as that work evolves.”