Students livid after school uses ChatGPT to auto-generate email about university shooting

University students in the US have been left outraged after they received email correspondence from faculty in relation to the Michigan shootings, only to discover the note had been formulated using artificial intelligence.

Students at a university in Tennessee received an email from school administrators last Friday about the tragic shooting that left three students dead and another five injured at Michigan State University.

While the email initally appeared to be a stock-standard response to the all too common attacks on students in modern America, students were angered by one little detail at the bottom of the email.

The final line of the email, from the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College, stated the email was written using ChatGPT which is an automated tool that uses artificial intelligence to write text.

"In the wake of the Michigan shootings, let us come together as a community to reaffirm our commitment to caring for one another and promoting a culture of inclusivity on our campus," the email reads, according to university paper Vanderbilt Hustler.

"By doing so, we can honor the victims of this tragedy and work towards a safer, more compassionate future for all."

Underneath, the final line reads: "Paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023."

Ooft. Come on, Vanderbilt University, at least use a person to communicate with students when it comes to on-campus killings.

Students were livid at the college's use of the automated tool to generate a message about the mass-shooting, with one labeling the move 'disgusting'.

"There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you can’t be bothered to reflect on it yourself," student Laith Kayat, who hails from Michigan, said according to the Vanderbilt Hustler.

"[Administrators] only care about perception and their institutional politics of saving face."

University officials quickly issued an apology, telling the student newspaper that using the AI tool to auto-generate a message to students on the tragic shooting was 'poor judgment'.

Peabody College’s Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion wrote Nicole Joseph issued an apology to the student-run rag.

"As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI," she said.

In a statement issued to Vice, Dean of Education and Human Development Camilla P. Benbow apologized to students further.

"The development and distribution of the initial email did not follow Peabody’s normal processes providing for multiple layers of review before being sent," she said.

"The university’s administrators, including myself, were unaware of the email before it was sent."

The incident is currently under review, and those in charge of the Equity and Diversity office have been suspended.