University forced to apologise over major AI blunder at graduation ceremony
A university graduation ceremony in the US has erupted in boos after staff admitted the AI tool being used to read out students' names was malfunctioning.
Multiple names were mispronounced, and some were skipped altogether at Glendale Community College's commencement ceremony last week.
It forced some students at the college to walk across the stage and collect their degrees with a different name shown on the screen behind them.
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Tiffany Hernandez, president of Glendale Community College in the US, admitted AI was to blame for the issue. TikTok/@gracereimer2003
When the issue became clear to students and staff, Glendale Community College president Tiffany Hernandez admitted AI was to blame.
"We're using a new AI system as our reader," she told students in footage shared to social media.
"That's a lesson learned for us."
Her words were met with a chorus of boos from the crowd.
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Initially, Hernandez said students who had to collect their degrees while the wrong names were read would not get a do-over.
After significant outcry from the crowd, she reconsidered and announced students would be allowed to walk the stage again with a human reading each name.
Some students took to social media to voice their concern and disappointment over AI being used for something as simple as reading out graduates' names.
Graduate Grace Reimer was affected by the AI blunder and claimed on TikTok that half the student body left the ceremony early because of it.
She also shared a screenshot of a letter of apology students received from Hernandez after the fact.
A letter from the university president apologising for the incident. TikTok/@gracereimer2003
"On behalf of myself and the entire college, I want to extend a sincere apology for the experience many of you and your loved ones had during Friday's commencement ceremony," it read.
Hernandez went on to say the college is "reviewing what occurred and will take steps to ensure an issue like this does not happen again in the future".
Her letter did not specifically mention AI or whether it will be used again in future.
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Nor did a Glendale Community College representative mention AI by name in a statement to US publication Business Insider about the blunder.
"While the issue was corrected during the ceremony, we are sorry for the disruption it caused during what should have been a celebratory moment for our graduates and their families," the representative told the outlet.
"We have also communicated directly with graduates to apologize for the experience."
The blunder has sparked conversation about the role of AI in education spaces.
Many universities in Australia and abroad, Glendale Community College included, have strict policies controlling how students use AI tools for their studies.
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