Welcoming Thoughts

Posted to the CS 124 forum on August 23rd, 2026, as a welcoming message for incoming students.

Welcome to Illinois! Many of you are first-year students who are gathering from all over the world to embark on a multi-year odyssey—intellectual, social, and emotional. I remember the plane ride, the cab from the airport, and my first days on campus, even almost thirty years later.

You’re arriving at a time of great upheaval, as AI transforms both computing and education. I have been in computing since before most of you were born. I’ve never witnessed anything like this. I’ve been using AI heavily for a year, and I’m still regularly astonished by its capabilities, which just keep improving.

Change is always difficult. Rapid change is even harder. You may be wondering how you fit into the new computing. I’m figuring that out myself. So are my friends in academia and industry.

And so is the university. Today we have many more questions than answers. How do we prepare you to collaborate effectively with AI? How does a college education provide value when you have access to the best tutor ever created? How can AI support human development and flourishing? These conversations are ongoing but nowhere near settled. Your contributions to them are vital.

Even though we don’t know what computing will look like when you graduate in 2030—or even next year—you have time to find your answers, and the university is a great place to look. You’ll find some in your computing courses. You’ll find more in the humanities, in art and music, in great stories, in the woods, on the playing field, and at dinner with friends. Take full advantage of the wild patience of undergraduate life.

Soon we’ll need far fewer people with specialized knowledge about computing. But we’ll have far more interesting people using computing to change the world. That’s the future to prepare for. Become as interesting as possible. I hope I can help you. The design of CS 124 represents that hope in the face of today’s uncertainty. But please don’t hesitate to approach me with your even bigger hopes and uncertainties.