AI Announcer At Graduation Ceremony Sparks Debate: "Innovation Or Impersonal?"

Students at New York City's Pace University were left shocked when college authorities used artificial intelligence (AI) to read aloud their names during the graduation ceremony. While professors or human announcers usually read the names, calling the students to the stage to receive their degrees, the ceremony at the US university featured a voice, entirely created using AI.

A viral video posted by @therundownai on Instagram showed the graduating students standing in a line with their phones out. After reaching one of the faculty members on the stage, they showed a QR code, which was promptly scanned. Soon, a raspy, synthetic voice, generated by AI, uttered the student's name over the sound system.

According to a report in the New York Post, prior to the ceremony, students were directed to a website where they could phonetically spell their names and confirm the pronunciation.

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Social media reacts

While a section of social media users appreciated the effort to ensure correct pronunciations, others felt the approach lacked the personal touch of a human announcer.

"Imagine a school that would expel you for using AI to write a paper, but will use AI to read graduate names for them," said one user, while another added: "This is just lazy."

A third commented: "I would appreciate having my name said correctly."

AI's impact on students

While colleges are using AI to read the names without any mistakes, studies have shown that the technology is having a negative impact on students. Earlier this year, a study published in the journal Societies showed that AI tools were diminishing the critical thinking abilities of students.

Analysis from more than 650 people aged 17 and over in the UK showed evidence of lower critical thinking skills among the young people who extensively delegated their memory and problem-solving tasks to AI through a phenomenon known as cognitive offloading.

"Younger participants who exhibited higher dependence on AI tools scored lower in critical thinking compared to their older counterparts," wrote lead author Michael Gerlich of SBS Swiss Business School.

The participants acknowledged that their reliance on AI for decision-making and memory tasks had them concerned about losing critical thinking skills. Some even expressed concerns that AI was altering their decisions through its own, inherent bias.