The disruption of education, especially higher education, is unfolding in real time due to artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs). How extensively is AI used by university students? Unveiled today, the 2026 Dartmouth AI Survey reveals shocking insights, including how widespread AI use is among college students across the nation and their views on AI’s impact on jobs.
“The survey data paint a picture in which student use of AI in higher education is rampant,” wrote the study’s lead researcher, Dartmouth economics professor and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) researcher Bruce Sacerdote, along with coauthor Mason Parris-Bacon in the study’s working paper.
The survey results were unveiled at Dartmouth’s “AI at 70: What Must Remain Human?” conference in Hanover, New Hampshire, a befitting setting for an AI discussion, as this was the birthplace of the term. In 1956, John McCarthy led a workshop called the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence and is credited with coining the term “artificial intelligence.”
“Higher education is one of the heavily impacted areas; our survey data show that most college students use AI tools for a wide range of tasks, including explaining difficult concepts, summarizing readings, solving math problems, generating study guides and many other uses,” reported Sacerdote and Parris-Bacon.
This was the inaugural release of a multi-year study of the impact of AI on learning and career readiness with participants from 1,000 college students across the U.S. and over 1,500 Dartmouth students.
Students Attribute More AI Use to Their Peers Than Themselves
One interesting survey finding is the huge discrepancy between what the students self-report as their AI use and how much they believe their peers are using AI. For example:
- Fifty percent of U.S. college students polled think their peers copy and paste AI text with little editing, but only 8 percent reported doing so themselves.
- Forty-nine percent believe their peers use AI to find problem-set answers, but only 11 percent admit they also do it.
- Although 39 percent of U.S. college students polled admitted to using AI for summarizing assigned readings, 60 percent believe their peers use it.
- When it comes to drafting essays or papers, 23 percent of U.S. college students self-reported doing so, and 55 percent believe that their peers do it.
In short, few college students polled self-report that they use AI, but many believe their peers actively engage in this behavior.
“Some of this gap is likely that students will not self-incriminate even on a zero-stakes (and in the case of the U.S. college student sample) anonymized survey,” wrote the Dartmouth researchers. “However, discussions with students indicate that much of the gap may stem from peer misuse being overestimated.”
Peer AI Use Fuels Fairness Concerns About Take-Home Work
Will perceptions of peer behavior become a deciding factor among college students for using AI for homework at universities? The current poll shows that already 39 percent of U.S. college students reported using AI because their peers do. A majority of U.S. college students polled (70 percent) view that AI use has made take-home work unfair. For the college students who think their peers are using AI for homework, but that they themselves are not, will that create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) that will eventually lead them to use it as well to level the perceived playing field?
“Out-of-class assessments are increasingly problematic because the temptation to use AI to help with responses is too great,” the Dartmouth researchers wrote.
Students Value AI Skills but Worry About Jobs
When it comes to AI’s impact on career and job opportunities, 55 percent of U.S. college students polled say that having strong AI skills will be important for success in their career, 56 percent believe that AI is reducing the number of job opportunities in their desired field, and only 32 percent agree that AI is creating jobs in the fields that interest them because it makes humans more productive. Among Dartmouth students polled, 84 percent say AI is changing jobs in their field but not necessarily eliminating them.
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Researchers Recommend Flexible AI Guidelines
“Clearly, colleges need to be flexible, thoughtful and intentional in proposing AI guidelines; almost surely the particulars of rules and guidelines need to vary across disciplines and course types,” concluded the researchers.
Copyright © 2026 Cami Rosso. All rights reserved.
