The iconic comedian and author Jerry Seinfeld gave the commencement speech to the class of 2024 at Duke University; as a supporter of the state of Israel, dozens of students walked out of the ceremony, chanting “free Palestine” while the larger crowds in the stadium counteracted by chanting “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”

Seinfeld went on to give a wise, insightful, and of course, hilarious speech about hard work, family, and using one’s privilege to benefit the world. He also had some comedic remarks on artificial intelligence, and what the hype over large language models unfortunately says about modern American culture.

“AI is the most embarrassing thing we’ve invented during man’s timeline on earth,” said Seinfeld. “This seems to be the justification for AI: ‘I couldn’t do it.” He went on to joke that ChatGPT’s slogan should be the opposite of Nike’s: “You just can’t do it.”

Seinfeld’s remarks probably resonated uncomfortably with a group of college students who witnessed the rise of ChatGPT during their studies, and the temptation to use it for homework. Seinfeld, though, puts the question in encouraging terms: you can do the heavy lifting of critical thinking, imagination, and connection. You don’t have to outsource those things to a computer.

Seinfeld’s speech is well worth listening to whether you’re a student or not. He also made some poignant points on the goodness of work, saying how “work is wonderful” and that he won’t look back on his life and wish he “worked less.”

These are trying times for universities given the student protests, resurgent antisemitism, and an abandonment of Western values that made the college experience worth it in the first place. It’s encouraging then that Duke invited Jerry Seinfeld, a man of humor and good sense, to address the class of 2024.