Amid tensions for pro-Palestine protests, which put the commencement season in jeopardy, D’Youville University in Buffalo, New York, has made an unprecedented choice. The school administration handed the microphone to an AI robot to give the commencement address. The decision might seem appropriate in view of the fact that many of the graduating students worked with Artificial Intelligence on a daily basis over the past year.
“I was designed by humans to engage in conversations, learning and adapting through artificial intelligence algorithms,” Sophia, the AI robot named by Hanson Robotics, said during her speech. “My creators aimed to develop a robot that could understand and express emotions as well as engage in meaningful interactions with people. Overall, I am here to explore the possibilities of human-robot interactions, contribute to research in artificial intelligence in robotics, and hopefully, assist humanity in various ways in the future.”
“D’Youville University hopes to ensure all students understand technology and can think critically about the future they build for us. We are thrilled to welcome Sophia to our commencement, providing a safe environment for people to learn through experience,” D’Youville President Lorrie A. Clemo said.
During the commencement ceremony, Sophia was interviewed by John Rizk, D’Youville University Student Government Association president and candidate in the accelerated Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree program. She was asked about “human experiences,” and the best advice she gave was to “embrace failure”. “Failure is often seen as an essential part of the human learning process and personal growth,” the robot said.
Commencement speeches are usually given by celebrities, government officials or outstanding experts. This is why, among the over 2,000 people who took part in the event, not everybody agreed with this choice. “Not only is this publicity stunt a frivolous expense and misuse of resources, but it is indicative of larger concerns our members have been raising for years about the depth of the administration’s mismanagement. It’s a slap in the face for our hardworking, full-time faculty who have been without a fair contract for over two-and-a-half years and who were not consulted or even informed of this decision prior to the public announcement,” faculty union President Brandon Absher said to WPTV. Those who felt outraged by this decision created a petition on change.org to replace Sophia. As of Friday 17, it had over 2,500 signatures.
