[Ads-l] Phrase: chat the books

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

When the reading list for a class is lengthy some students will "chat
the books," i.e., use an AI chatbot to learn about the books instead
of reading them. Students used Cliff Notes and SparkNotes before the
Age of AI.

Date: October 29, 2026
Newspaper: Wall Street Journal
Article: This Harvard Class Is Brutal. Why Is Everyone Signing Up? ---
Students embrace an inhumane reading list in search of an escape from
the tyranny of AI
Author: Pamela Paul
Quote Page A1
Database: ProQuest

[Begin excerpt]
The curriculum begins with "The Odyssey," travels forward in time to
James Joyce's "Ulysses" and then backward to end with "The Iliad." In
between are assignments on Montaigne, Shakespeare, Spinoza, Baldwin,
Dante and Plato.

In their applications and in interviews, students expressed the urge
to be forced to tackle classics they otherwise wouldn't read, the need
to combat frayed attention spans and the desire for an antidote to The
Machine. Several mentioned with disdain that people who aren't in the
class wondered why they didn't "just Chat the books," i.e., use AI.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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