AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini have fundamentally changed learning at schools and universities. In response, the University of Chicago Law School has now implemented a laptop ban for freshmen. The aim is to promote critical thinking among students. The dean told Business Insider that some professors had “slept a little” by setting tasks that students could complete with AI “without thinking for themselves.” That should change now.
AI tools have long been part of everyday university life
An OpenAI analysis found that college students in the US use ChatGPT more than any other audience. “They no longer make important life decisions without first asking ChatGPT for advice on what to do. The tool has full context about every person in their life and what they’ve talked about,” CEO Sam Altman explained at an event in mid-2025. Many also use AI to save time when writing term papers and essays. To avoid attracting attention, some students even deliberately make typos or deliberately use “stupid” prompts. This should make the texts sound more natural.
AI is also widely used in studies in Germany. In a nationwide survey by researchers at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, 92 percent of those surveyed said they used tools like ChatGPT at least occasionally – more than two thirds of them to clarify questions of understanding, around 52 percent to analyze and create texts and almost half for translations. Although AI can offer more personalized learning support, at the same time scientists are concerned about cognitive development. An Oxford study of students aged 13 to 18 concluded that although AI increases speed, it could limit questioning and independent thinking.
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A complete ban is unrealistic
Universities around the world are grappling with the question of how to deal with AI. The University of Chicago Law School has now made a clear decision: there is a laptop ban for first-year students in classes and exams. Instead of banning AI completely, the faculty wants to redesign its curriculum so that the skills that students should develop themselves are separated from those in which AI can be used. “We can’t just naively pretend that AI can be turned off, that students won’t use it or that they don’t need to know about it,” Dean Adam Chilton told Business Insider.
Reports of AI fraud at other universities have increased fears that students could complete their studies without having developed sound logical thinking. The new strategy therefore includes laptop-free lectures, proctored exams without external materials and oral defenses of important papers. This is to ensure that students can question and explain their work. At the same time, AI teaching is being expanded. The technology will be integrated into legal writing courses and students will have access to legal AI tools such as Harvey and Legora.
The university wants to promote independent learning
AI has long been indispensable in legal practice, says Chilton. Law firms would expect new employees to use the technology efficiently and responsibly – a complete ban would therefore be unrealistic. Instead, the University of Chicago Law School takes what Chilton calls a “space for both learning styles” approach. Students should first learn to think without AI. Once the foundation has been laid, it’s about teaching how to use the technology ethically.
