Introducing ChatGPT Futures: Class of 2026

Today, we’re proud to introduce the inaugural ChatGPT Futures Class of 2026(opens in a new window), recognizing 26 students and young builders using AI in thoughtful, ambitious, and deeply human ways. The class of 2026 is the first generation to start and finish college with ChatGPT. They arrived on campus in the fall of 2022 just as AI was beginning to reshape how people learn, create, and work. This generation was ChatGPT’s earliest adopters, sharing the tool with their parents and siblings, friends and teachers. Now, they’re graduating into a world where changes in technology are accelerating every day. Over the past few years, I’ve spent time visiting campuses, speaking with students and educators, and watching how young people are actually using AI in their daily lives. What I’ve seen has challenged many of the assumptions people make about this generation. Many students aren’t using AI to avoid work. They’re using it to attempt things they wouldn’t have thought possible before. I’ve met students who are building study tools for classmates. Translating mental health resources for underserved communities. Advancing scientific research. Designing accessibility tools for peers with disabilities. Turning side projects into real organizations with real impact. Again and again, I’ve met students who discovered something surprisingly powerful: they don’t have to wait. As Kyle Scenna, a 24 year-old ChatGPT Futures honoree and entrepreneur from the University of Waterloo told us: “I never thought the gap between noticing a problem and building something real could get this small.” He’s not alone in this feeling. This generation doesn’t have to wait to become experts before getting started. They don’t have to wait for funding before building. They don’t have to wait for permission before contributing. That realization—that you can turn an idea into something tangible faster than ever before—is what inspired ChatGPT Futures. These honorees represent over 20 universities and institutions from Vanderbilt and the University of Toronto to Oxford, Georgia Tech and many others. Each member of the inaugural class will receive a $10,000 grant to continue advancing their work and will receive access to our frontier models. What connects them is not a specific discipline or background. It’s a mindset. They saw new tools emerge, got curious, and decided to build. That may become the defining and critical characteristic of this generation. There are understandable questions about what AI might mean for learning, creativity, and jobs. I work on those questions every day with partners throughout the education ecosystem. But the students I’ve met have also given me a tangible view of what AI can unlock right now. It’s agency. AI doesn’t replace ambition. It amplifies it. For decades, the ability to build something—whether a product, a research project, a movement, or a company—often depended on access. Access to technical training, institutional support, networks, or funding. Those barriers haven’t disappeared, but they are beginning to shift. Michelle Lawson, a 20-year-old student at Smith College and a ChatGPT Futures honoree shared with us, “I’ve always believed that you can achieve…