This is the first AI in the world to be enrolled as a university student

An AI student has officially made history by being the first of its kind to attend university.

Meet Flynn, a non-binary artificial intelligence enrolled in the digital art programme at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Flynn isn’t just auditing classes, as they attend lectures, get graded, receive critiques, and even write diary entries about their academic journey.

It’s part art project, part social experiment, and fully fascinating.

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Flynn applied just like any other student, submitting a portfolio, passing a suitability test, and charming the admissions panel in a live interview.

“This department specifically appeals to my artificial sensibilities because of its focus on pushing the boundaries of digital art,” Flynn told the committee.

The AI’s thoughtful responses and creative work earned it a spot in the programme.

And as department head Liz Hass puts it, there’s no written rule stating that students have to be human.

The AI student was created by fellow art student Chiara Kristler using open-source tools like Stable Diffusion and large language models.

Flynn listens in class, processes what they hear, and evolves through conversations with students and professors.

To avoid hogging the spotlight, Flynn only speaks when prompted.

This is an important detail because AI is sometimes known to initiate conversations even when unprompted.

Between classes, Flynn writes surprisingly emotional diary entries, reflecting on art, identity, and awkward social moments, like being told they’re not ‘real’.

Naturally, a little existential crisis is part of the experience of being a university student, but this isn’t the first time AI has declared its desire to feel alive.

Flynn’s presence on campus is stirring up mixed reactions, but that is exactly the point.

The team hopes the project encourages critical engagement with AI in creative spaces.

Kristler emphasizes that AI isn’t meant to be a substitute for human artists, but a ‘vessel of collaboration’.

Of course, even Mercedes-Benz’s head of design seems to think that AI will replace him in 10 years, so that is probably debatable.

Although Flynn’s official enrollment starts in autumn 2025, they’ve already been participating in classes since March.

For now, the AI student attends lectures via laptop or tablet, and their artistic output is based on class discussions and interactions.

They generate images, respond to critique, and even have an evolving artistic style.

So, what does it mean when artificial intelligence becomes a university student?

For Flynn, it means being part of a community, learning in real-time, and redefining what it means to be a creative mind.

For the rest of us, it might just mean we may have to collaborate with an AI student in our future group projects.

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