From Reading Alone to Reading-with-AI: How Undergraduates Reconfigure Academic Reading Practices in an AI World

In this study we inquire into the different ways undergraduate students integrate generative AI into their academic reading practices. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and reading process mappings from 31 students, we used artifact analysis and an iterative analytical approach to analyze how participants experience academic reading and the ways artificial intelligence has influenced their engagement with academic texts. We found that students: use metrics like page count, available time, energy levels, and perceived importance to operationalize their academic reading; view AI as a way to mitigate risk; and build, evaluate, and re-calibrate personal boundaries around AI. These findings suggest that for our participants, academic reading in the age of AI is best understood as a dynamic process in which students strategically integrate AI to navigate risk, pursue learning goals, respond to social demands, and negotiate their academic identities.