By Ryan Talton ’27, staff writer
Students were upset over more than Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter this Groundhog Day.
The College’s Instagram and Facebook pages posted a graphic acknowledging Groundhog Day featuring President MacLaren and a groundhog. Students were quick to notice it was generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Many students left comments on the College’s social media pages expressing their frustration at AI’s usage on social media while many students in the digital media program could benefit from creating similar graphics. Another point of frustration came from the College lacking a consistent policy on AI, with many professors discouraging its use while using it for grading. These comments were then turned off which furthered student frustration.
“Not everyone will be happy with everything we do,” said Molly O’Brien-Foelsch, Vice President of Marketing and Communication, when asked about how she would respond to those disappointed by the use of AI. “It’s ok to disagree.”
O’Brien-Foelsch explained how AI has become a necessity to advance the College’s business goals and remain ahead of the competition.
“A major way AI has affected our work is through zero-click search: Increasingly, web searchers are relying on AI results rather than clicking through to our website for more information,” O’Brien-Foelsch said.
The decision to turn off the comments came after the language being used was deemed inappropriate.
“Typically, I favor leaving comments on social media posts and keeping the feature enabled,” said O’Brien-Foelsch. “In this case, it became clear that the comments section was not a good place for civil dialogue.”
O’Brien-Foelsch explained that AI is mostly used in a non-public facing manner, but it is occasionally used to create content for social media graphics. Several students are currently employed by the Marketing and Communications team who create social media content as well.
“Any student who wants to pursue a marketing career should be aware that AI is here to stay across almost all aspects of the field, and technology will continue to evolve rapidly,” said O’Brien-Foelsch.
Anyone with further questions or concerns is encouraged to contact Marketing and Communications in a respectful manner at marcomm@lvc.edu.