After the sudden popularity that AI chat systems are gaining, it is logical to think that we would begin to see all kinds of uses, some good… and others not so good. The latter has been the case of a North American university, which has used ChatGPT to write a kind of speech after a mass shooting.
Logically, using ChatGPT for a matter like this has result a scandaland for Vanderbilt University students has not gone unnoticedcalling the matter “disgusting.”
The story is what follows. There was a mass shooting last week killing 3 and injuring 5 people in Michigan last week. After the attack, students from another university, located in Tennessee, received an email with the typical text to comfort students and build community. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the text itself is quite sanitized:
“In the wake of the Michigan shootings, let’s come together as a community to reaffirm our commitment to take care of one another and promote a culture of inclusion on our campus.”
Part of the email written by ChatGPT
ChatGPT to comfort students
The seriousness of the matter is that the email was not only signed by the university’s inclusion and diversity office, as is usual. It also contained a mention describing that the text of the email had been generated via ChatGPT.
This fired up the community. The students were horrified and quite angry that the university used an automated tool to generate a message about a mass shooting, instead of a person doing it at a time when the circumstances cried out for something more humanity.
Following the scandal, university administrators were quick to issue an apology, saying that using ChatGPT to comment on the tragedy was “poor judgement”:
“As with all new technologies impacting higher education, this moment provides an opportunity for all of us to reflect on what we know and what we still need to learn about AI”
Nicole Joseph, Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the university
Be that as it may, the damage was already done and with the apologies through those responsible, They have not convinced many students. The university has learned its lesson, and according to Vice from now on, the processes already designated for situations of this type are exclusively used.
One thing is clear: what need was there to use ChatGPT to write a text of just a few lines in a situation like that?