Columbia University Students & Faculty Resist

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At Columbia University, one of the US’s most prestigious academic institutions, the suppression of free speech and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence go hand in hand.

On May 12, in front of the university’s closely guarded gates at Broadway and West 116th Street (one of the last places where Columbia students are free to stage loud, public protests), a small group of students and faculty gathered to protest what they believe is the uncritical integration of AI into Columbia teaching and learning systems.

To whit: the creation of an academic program called ‘Claude for Education’, offering free student access to advanced models of ChatGPT and Gemini, and awards to faculty members who incorporate AI into their courses.

Announced on May 5, Columbia’s in-house chatbot program effectively subsidizes corporate erosion of student reading and writing skills, while plagiarizing the intellectual property of university faculty, the protesters’ hand-out said.

Students also oppose Columbia’s ‘AI Minor’ program, offered in the 2025 academic year, and a new ‘AI Masters’ program to be offered this coming Fall, both of which they say soft-pedal the ethical hazards of AI systems.

Instead, critics say, the two programs “capitalize” on the profitability of advanced AI platforms, while catering to the “rapid rise in industry demand” for AI-trained students.

JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are among the corporate heavyweights Columbia’s new AI-based programs are designed to serve, the protesters hand-out said.

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“We cannot trust Columbia to properly educate its masters students on the risks of this technology when the university is invoking the “projected value of the global AI market”,” the hand-out said.

Citing Columbia University’s “historical collaboration with the military industrial complex” — including the development of atomic bomb technology at Columbia, and its involvement in the advancement of Cold War-era military theory — the hand-out also called on Columbia to disclose how much money it’s receiving from AI companies.

Topping their complaints, on the eve of university commencement ceremonies, Columbia students were angered by the news that the names of graduating students would be read out, not by an esteemed, two-legged faculty member, but by an AI “robot.”

“Class Day is the only time that every student is individually acknowledged by the administration,” the students rote in their protest flyer. “The switch needlessly removes human intention from a special Columbia tradition.”

Of course, no tradition is more foundational — at Columbia, or any other academic institution — than the right to freely pursue scholarship, study, teach, and speak out on matters of public concern — especially contentious ones — without fear of reprisal.

Since the start of Israel-USA’s genocidal war on Gaza, in October 2023, under pressure from the Trump Administration and the university’s “corporate-heavy” Board of Trustees, Columbia has been among the country’s most free speech-averse campuses — banning protests against the Gaza genocide, calling in police to break up protest encampments, and suspending and expelling students.

Based on feedback from 55,000 currently enrolled students at 251 US colleges and universities, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) places Columbia University second to last in its ‘Speech Code Ranking’, assigning it a ‘Yellow’ rating – “Abysmal.”

Sixty-five percent of Columbia students told FIRE that they “self-censor” “at least 1-2 times a month.”

FIRE identifies sixty Columbia faculty members, instructors and students who’ve been investigated, sanctioned, terminated, suspended or expelled by the administration for speaking out against the Gaza genocide. The suspension and expulsion of Columbia Masters students Catherine Curran-Groome, Aidan Parisi and Brandon Murphy was reported here.

Columbia’s commitment to free expression is steadfast and enduring, Acting President Claire Shipman wrote in September 2025.

Others are see things differently.

The pursuit and persecution of Columbia student protest leaders speak volumes about academic freedom and free speech on the West Harlem campus.

With the apparent complicity of Columbia authorities, ICE thugs have targeted Columbia students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, both active in support of Palestine, and in opposition to US-Israeli genocide in Gaza. The Trump regime is seeking to deport both. Columbia University has not come to their defence — certainly not loudly.

Columbia University students & faculty protest in front of university’s main gate (David Kattenburg)

In the minds of some Columbia students, the administration’s jaundiced view on free speech and its passionate embrace of AI go hand in hand. Listen to them, and a few of their faculty supporters, in this edition of the GPM. Click on the play button above, or go here.

Students perform protest songs against AI, in front of Columbia’s main gate (David Kattenburg)

Students perform protest songs against AI, in front of Columbia’s main gate (David Kattenburg)

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In this GPM edition, we also speaks with Michael Harris, a professor of mathematics at Columbia University, specializing in number theory.

The last time Michael and I sat down was in Leiden, in the Netherlands, in September 2025, at a conference of computer scientists and mathematicians. Among the outcomes of that gathering — a declaration on the ethical principals of AI. The Leiden Declaration, as it’s called, will be publicly revealed in July, possibly at the International Congress of Mathematicians, scheduled to take place in Philadelphia. Stay tuned for details.

Michael Harris (David Kattenburg)