At a Class Day marked by sharp humor, heartfelt reflections, and a fierce defense of the human spirit, The Daily Showhost delivered a blistering counter-narrative to the tech-obsessed zeitgeist.
- A Call for Demise, Not Mastery: Deviating from the typical commencement advice to adapt to artificial intelligence, comedian Ronny Chieng explicitly charged graduates with a new mission: destroy AI and preserve the inherently human joy of creation.
- Laughter and Hard Truths: Chieng paired his anti-AI manifesto with sharp jabs at Harvard’s institutional controversies, a comedic tone matched by student orator Hamza Masoud, who humorously skewered the university’s grade inflation.
- Purpose over Pragmatism: Echoing Chieng’s call for authentic passion, Dean David Deming and student speakers emphasized the necessity of moral character, community service, and dreaming big, capping off a deeply resonant celebration.
Artificial intelligence has become the inescapable theme of the spring 2026 commencement season. Across the country, esteemed speakers—including Harvard University President Alan M. Garber in his Baccalaureate address—have stood at podiums to solemnly instruct graduates on the necessity of mastering this emerging technology.
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But when comedian, actor, and The Daily Show rotating host Ronny Chieng took the stage at Tercentenary Theatre for Harvard’s Class Day celebration on Wednesday, he offered the graduating Class of 2026 a distinctly different, and far more expletive-laden, mandate.
“Can I just say fk AI, fk AI, f**k AI?”
Chieng asked the crowd of graduates, friends, and families, who immediately answered him with a roaring wave of approval. “I’m glad you agree. It’s so stupid. A lot of other respected graduation speakers at colleges around America are talking about you guys needing to master AI for the future. I’m here to tell you the mission of your generation is to destroy AI, kill it.”
The Nuance Behind the Rage
While his delivery was steeped in comedic outrage, Chieng’s wariness toward artificial intelligence carried a profound, nuanced philosophical warning about the future of human fulfillment. He was careful to acknowledge the valid, high-level applications of the technology, noting its potential to “pioneer breakthroughs in medicine and physics.” If graduates utilize AI to cure diseases or unravel the mysteries of the universe, Chieng conceded, they are not part of the problem.
His true grievance lies in the automation of the mundane and the outsourcing of human creativity. Chieng bemoaned the way AI smooths the path for cognitively basic tasks, like drafting emails, while actively robbing humanity of the messy, satisfying friction of creative work.
“Untalented people love bragging about using AI to help them draft their speeches, and their scripts, and their podcasts, and their promo videos for UFC fights at the White House,” he quipped. “What they’re missing is this: the creating is the fun part.”
Drawing on his own career, Chieng explained that the joy of comedy writing doesn’t come from the final product alone, but from figuring out the complex puzzle pieces of a joke. The self-regard born from accomplishing a difficult task is the ultimate reward—one that AI-generated content simply cannot replicate. He warned the senior class that their upcoming societal battle will be one of “substance versus shallow knowledge,” of true mastery versus faking it, and of good taste versus the tacky.
Skewering the Institution
Chieng’s bluntness wasn’t reserved solely for algorithms. He took several sharp, satirical shots directly at his host institution, calling out Harvard’s historical ties to the Epstein files and mercilessly roasting its recently announced grade inflation reforms.
“The more A’s you hand out, the better everyone looks. I can’t believe I have to explain this,” Chieng joked to the Ivy League crowd. “Did you guys go to Harvard?”
This irreverent spirit was seamlessly carried forward by student speakers. Delivering the lighthearted Ivy Oration, Hamza Masoud ’26, a member of the Lampoon, recounted the distinct joys of campus life while poking fun at the university’s biggest recent controversies. Masoud humorously noted the passing of the seasons, pointing out how summers eventually turned into “a former university professor,” a sly dig at former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers. Masoud also echoed Chieng’s jabs at academic rigor: “When I entered Harvard, I believed that grade inflation was a myth. Four years later, I have a GPA of 3.968 and am graduating at the bottom of my class.”
Adversity, Character, and Dreaming Big
Beneath the laughter, the Class Day program remained deeply anchored in themes of resilience and moral fortitude. David Deming, the Danoff dean of Harvard College, advised the graduates to embrace the character-building power of hardship while remaining humble enough to recognize their own luck.
“Adversity doesn’t help you economically, but it can build moral character, and the world needs moral character now more than ever,” Dean Deming stated. “You don’t want to be the kind of person who thinks they deserve everything good that happened to them.”
That call for authenticity was powerfully realized in the Harvard Oration, titled “Remember to Dream Big.” Ihechikarageme Munonye ’26, raised in a low-income neighborhood in Washington, D.C., moved the audience to tears as she described abandoning practical, “safe” concentrations like economics to pursue her true passions in sociology, art, and film. “I allowed myself to envision a life where success and passion need not exist on opposite sides of the spectrum,” she shared. “Do not abandon the passions that made you who you are today.”
Honoring Community and Looking Forward
The celebration also took time to recognize the profound impact of student service. The 2026 Ames Awards, honoring outstanding community service, were presented to two graduating seniors: Alexandra Fernand, recognized for her vital work with the Brookview House in Boston, and Jamie Durant, honored for founding the Jews for Palestine group on campus and directing the Cambridge After-School Program. Also in attendance to help usher the seniors into their next chapter was David Battat ’91, the incoming president of the Harvard Alumni Association.
To close the afternoon, a septet of 2026 graduates took the stage to sing the 2026 Class Ode, featuring original lyrics penned by Alyssa Marie Gaines and set to the traditional tune of “Fair Harvard.”
As the graduates prepare to step out of the gates of Harvard Yard and into a rapidly shifting, technologically dominant world, they carry with them Ronny Chieng’s final, defiant piece of advice on how to guide the generations that will follow them:
“One day soon, some kids will be asking you for advice for after they graduate. And y
