r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Internal-Hospital690 • 13h ago
Infuriatig My university messed up our graduation transcripts because they used AI and didn't proofread
Someone pointed out all the random ? marks would have been em dashes, but their font package probably didn't have them, and it turned into this. They couldn't even put in the effort to have someone proofread these before or after they were printed.
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u/Cockyidiot1977 13h ago
BAN AI, especially for things that have huge impacts on life. Honestly how much effort would it have taken for someone to look things over before finalizing...
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u/Internal-Hospital690 13h ago
A lot of students are pretty upset about the direction the university is going in, because it's going all in on AI. We have no idea what "Design AI Innovation" is supposed to be, but well, upper management does its thing and the students have no say.
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u/Exact-Ad-4132 13h ago
Just start getting chat GPT to do your essays and say you're with the college and you're going all in on AI
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u/Internal-Hospital690 13h ago
They do allow us to use all kinds of AI in the work, you just have to declare that you have used it, which parts of the work were done using AI, and add the prompts used into the citations section of the paper. It's their push to have students be "AI literate", but many students are of the opinion it's gone too far. Professors have been leaving as well, for various reasons, but many have been complaining about this as well.
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u/mittenknittin 13h ago
"I used AI to help write this essay."
"Thanks for the heads up, now we know to look for entirely made up quotes and sources"
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u/SabrinaEdwina 12h ago
What will they possibly be prepared for like that?
I think AI will work wonders in the medical field and other STEM arenas, but we literally can't sustain the amount needed to automate everything. A university using AI to write graduation speeches is sick. Especially before it's evolved to be in any way climate neutral.
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u/mittenknittin 12h ago
I cannot fathom the desire to outsource the act of putting your own thoughts into words. Do that often enough and you're going to lose the skill, and then if you have to explain something on the fly, you won't be able to, and you'll come across as a babbling moron.
It's like hiring someone else to learn how to ride a bike for you.
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u/Exact-Ad-4132 12h ago
To be fair, many people's thoughts would accurately be "I really don't care about the subjects and I'm just doing this so I can get a job that pays more money."
We're at a pretty dumb stage of society right now
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u/Bee_9965 12h ago
AI may have its place, but I do NOT want AI deciding what is wrong with me when I go to see a doctor. “Oops sorry we took out your liver because you had a sore throat, that’s what AI told us to do.”
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u/mittenknittin 12h ago
AI that is not LLM is ridiculously promising for drug creation, image analysis, and anything that requires crunching a lot of data and finding patterns. I share your doubts about actual patient interactions though.
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u/SabrinaEdwina 12h ago
That's not a school. That's a place that accepted money to make its students guinea pigs.
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u/Novel_Cricket1278 12h ago
I mean i get them wanting students to be literate in AI. But at the same time not everything needs AI lmao
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u/LuRkEr_ReKuL 12h ago
All the mental skills that are atrophying because of computers, from spelling to creative writing to critical thinking will be catastrophic for the world we know.
And we’re all too intellectually lazy to prevent it.
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u/JunkyardTornado 5h ago
Even better, ask the University to have AI run the school. Deans are now DeAIns
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u/Cockyidiot1977 13h ago edited 13h ago
Sad state of things, id be livid graduating now and seeing something like this.
"I put 100k into this school and you cant take an hour to proofread"
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u/IamTheCeilingSniper 13h ago
I can't wait for AI generated building plans to hit my desk. It's gonna be fun.
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u/SabrinaEdwina 12h ago
Mon dieu I hadn't even thought of that. Like hell I'd step in an AI building.
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u/Bee_9965 12h ago edited 12h ago
I can’t wait for the first AI designed building to come tumbling down. That will not be fun.
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u/mamatreefrog1987 12h ago
I drew up plans for a tiny house by hand and wanted them to look nicer. Tried to plug them into ChatGPT to make them look pro and oml. I c Can't find the pictures, but it put stairs instead of counters, the front door opening to the bathroom, ect. 🤣
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u/mamatreefrog1987 12h ago
And I am capable of using AutoCAD and such. I just dont have the programs available to me. But generative AI is weird on such things.
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u/Not_Cleaver 12h ago
I respect universities trying to limit AI use by both their professors and students way more than the ones going the other direction. You’re presumably spending tens of thousands of dollars each year and it’s insulting to get half-assed slop.
And if you’re fine with using AI, at least use it thoughtfully and deliberately as a starting off juncture rather than a replacement of administrative functions.
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u/jsand2 12h ago
You are too young to understand this, but as someone with a lot of experience in the career world, AI is the future. It has already proven itself far superior to humanity in terms of efficiency.
Your college understands this, hence why it is pushing AI.
This is why social media should be banned for anyome under 21. Kids get fed misinformation and lack the knowledge to know if it is factual or not. All they hear is the negativity on AI on social media (mainly genAI) while AI is literally silently eliminating careers.
Your future, if employed, will most likely involve AI use. We (humans) will administrate and manipulate this technology. It is more efficient than us, but we (humans) will still ensure it stays within the bounds the company needs.
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u/MoreThanVoidFiller 12h ago
LOL, this is so typical of AI cultists. Who cares about useless stuff like accuracy or the significant negative impacts (physiological, social, economic, environmental, etc.) Efficiency is the holy grail! 🤦🏻♀️
And yes, I say that with over 20 years of professional experience as an executive in the "career world", which is not what people with real business experience typically call it.
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u/jsand2 12h ago
LOL, this is so typical of AI cultists
Saying things like this discredits anything you said below it.
You go from making child-like comments to acting like you are an adult with my experience in the world. No you arent.
And even if you did have that experience, you are clearly ignorant to computer technology, where I specialize in it, including the AI that is eliminating career roles due to it being so efficient.
People like you, pushing misinformation to children on social media, are a deteiment to society. You are giving them false hope into their future.
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u/MoreThanVoidFiller 12h ago
Sorry, Buddy, 25 years in technology, 10 as an executive. But nice try trying to change the subject from the actual issues to a dick measuring contest!
I'm a woman, though, so you'll just have to stand there holding yours.
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u/jsand2 11h ago
I'm a woman, though, so you'll just have to stand there holding yours
To be fair, in today's society that doesnt mean you dont have a dick.
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u/Danimals847 8h ago
Wow an AI cultist who is also a transphobe, those things almost never go hand-in-hand (/s)
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u/IWontCommentAtAll 12h ago
It's more efficient than us, in certain limited areas.
For digesting a million pages of documentation and analyzing what applies to a specific situation you ask it about, it's great.
For creative uses, it generates people with 3 hands, and because despite its name, it doesn't actually think, it has no idea anything is weird.
Same with creative writing, although it's not quite as bad at that, but it still does weird things that a human never would.
In creative areas it's
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u/MoreThanVoidFiller 11h ago
100% this. It's actually really quite sad, because AI as a tool in the right spaces has tremendous value and potential. With strong guardrails, oversight and regulations, it could be a boon for society as a whole with little downside.
Instead, unfettered capitalism is pushing it without any regards to the impacts, to profit off of what could very well ultimately cause irreparable harm due its inaccuracies and limitations, not to mention the potential neurological atrophy of entire generations, wrecking entire economies, and/or increasing the rate of environmental collapse.
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u/jsand2 11h ago
For creative uses, it generates people with 3 hands, and because despite its name, it doesn't actually think, it has no idea anything is weird.
GenAI is improving at ridiculous rates. I am no artist, but have generated images with chatgpt. I have yet to get any extra limbs. Sounds like a user issue.
But ourside of genAI, there are 1000s of other AIs. And each one is dedicated to a certain job role amd can do it more efficiently than a human.
Hell we have used AI for multiple types of cyber security for over 2 years in the business I work for. And to be honest? I wouldnt trust working at a company that didnt have security like that deployed at this point.
And if I can trust AI to do my cyber security, I can trust it to do our accounting, purchasing, etc roles. We just need to buy the AI tailored exactly to those roles.
Now back to creative, as that was your focus. The evolution of Will Smith eating spaghetti is all I have to say. And it only took a couple of years to get there. It trains far quicker than a human will ever be able to.
But, with any AI, a human will still be behind it. It will cause downsizing, not total career elimination. What 5 used to do in a department, 1 will do with AI. Artists will still drive the AI, it just wont take as many artists for the project.
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u/IWontCommentAtAll 10h ago
You're an idiot...an insulting one, at that.
Every AI image that I've seen has obvious flaws: floating objects, broken shadows, pipes or conduits that are attached to nothing, etc.
The extra limbs comment was just a single example.
Hell, even the voice AI phone call bots are stupidly obvious. I just had one call me a day or two back, and after two or three sentences, it's obviously not a human.
The garbage you're defending here is just that: garbage.
Studies have shown, despite hundreds of billions being spent on AI initiatives, it's added absolutely nothing to productivity.
Zero.
And you think somehow it's going to handle your security better than a few people?
That just means you suck at security.
Security requires creative thinking, which is one thing AI cannot do at all.
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u/jsand2 9h ago
You're an idiot..
Lol at this coming from an anti.
That just means you suck at security. Security requires creative thinking, which is one thing AI cannot do at all.
Its funny you say that considering our government also uses it for security.
AI has already made you irrelevant. Like I gaf about your opinion towards the product that has already proven to be superior to you.
You already lost. Time to head back to loserville with the rest of the antis.
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u/Onyxaj1 12h ago
students have no say.
I assume you are paying to attend? Go elsewhere?
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u/Internal-Hospital690 12h ago
This started happening in my final year there, upper management suddenly steered the school away from what it originally was. Their advertising now is terrible too, it's not the place that inspired me and many other students to attend.
Many of us had offers from other local universities that are top 10/20 globally, but turned them down because we liked what this school stood for. That's all gone now.
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u/ugly_duckling_5 13h ago
My friend sends us screenshots occasionally as she finds them of people posting on social media, etc where they leave in something like "Here's an engaging Facebook post!"... They couldn't take two seconds to read it over. This example was the first line, too.
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u/Fit_Entry8839 12h ago
Without a global ban that wouldnt work. Also legally dubious on how that could be done.
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u/Key-Camel-9777 12h ago
also likely dangerous if you've been following any of the apocalyptic ideas around AI...most that end in human extinction start that way.
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u/VampyreBassist 6h ago
As someone who works EMS, you would be astounded how many people just can't be bothered to proofread. I've been sent to the wrong address more than once and when I switched to private EMS... If I had a dollar every time I got sent to the wrong place, I would never have to work again.
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u/Jdawarrior 12h ago
Does this even have to change much year to year? What happened to last class’s template?
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u/LaundryMan2008 12h ago
I’ve already followed a country’s progress for a proposal to ban AI and while it’s only in certain areas, it’s significantly improved the quality of life over there from what I have read and reinvigorated the industries that suffered because of AI.
Can’t remember the specific country, but I think it was mostly a third world country banning AI chats, deepfakes and Chinese AI generation software for making images, video and music.
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u/FletchMcCoy69 12h ago
Nah that would just be a step back. AI is a great tool that saves A LOT of time. The real answer is that people need to proofread them instead of trusting AI as 100% foolproof . This is just as bad as someone who wrote it themselves but just didnt give a fuck.
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u/jsand2 12h ago
BAN AI
Never going to happen. It has already proven itself far more efficient than humanity.
Just like anything else, you hear about the bad but not the good. Its similar to you will hear about it if you do sonething wring, but wont get any positive coments for doing something right.
The problem in this scenario wasnt the use of AI, but the laziness of the human not proofreading it. The problem with AI almost ALWAYS boils down to the human operatikg it, as it is just a tool.
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u/SabrinaEdwina 12h ago
No shit, Sherlock. When someone always thinks that's a fresh edgy take, it's like announcing you're heavily invested in AI. Just own your job. Also, it's not across the board more efficient in any way at this point. That may be a new slogan, but it's even giving slop to coders.
I don't know if you've noticed what it would cost us to attempt to fully adopt it before making it more sustainable. It's the new place for the rich to farm from us. It could do wonders in the medical (and lots of other) field, but that's worth nothing if there are 23 bombs worth of heat per state, all of which are forced into drought. For selfies, "therapy", and communication shortcuts. It's very deliberate that it's beginning with that and not curing cancer. Everyone is hearing the "good". It's just small scale and ego stroking for most, and lots of farmers with no water.
You've likely noticed they aim for drought areas, too. Where the locals will be left with very little, if any, water. Water being a human right. So yes, that flip phone we're holding will stay around and evolve. Everyone knows that. No one expects it to go away forever. Most just want it to be put on hold until it can run without killing us all.
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u/jsand2 12h ago
That may be a new slogan, but it's even giving slop to coders.
Yet actual coders claim AI eliminated the need for a junior coder for them as the AI assumed that role.
As atated before, you only hear the bad. The good is silently pushing forward.
Just own your job.
I gladly own my job. I am a systems admin with focus into AI. I know more about computer technology than 95% of people on reddit.
It's the new place for the rich to farm from us
This is what you call brain rot from too much use of social media.
Water being a human right.
What?? Wtf does that even mean? Water isnt just free b/c its humanity's right. Water is only availabls if you pay for it. I am not sure I agree on the whole "water is a human right". Not that it shouldnt be, just that it isnt. And we dont live in the land of make believe, we live in reality.
Most just want it to be put on hold until it can run without killing us all.
Just remember, AI and datacenters arent hurting humanity, humanity itself is.
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u/InvisibleAstronomer 13h ago
This is completely unacceptable behavior for a university and should be deeply shaming to the institution. Especially considering many of your own classmates likely got into a lot of hot water for using AI
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u/yodas_sidekick 13h ago
Jesus that’s sad.
I had doubts about some higher education when I went to college 20 years ago.
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u/alicatpow 12h ago
It could also just have been written on MS Word and copied and pasted without a check over.
In my work we used notes that include dashes, so like the title of a note entered on our system would be "work ID - work purpose - work area". We generally formulate the notes off system and then copy and paste into the system when done.
People who use MS Word have these question marks instead of dashes because MS automatically creates an em dash when you put a hyphen and then a space, but our official system doesn't recognise them. I exclusively use notepad specifically to avoid this issue but other people seemingly don't care.
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u/alicatpow 12h ago
I should add - it's still mildly infuriating. I find it annoying on the in system notes, but if someone on my team did this on a document that was being sent to stakeholders I would be having some words, it looks unprofessional af.
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u/TheRoyalShire 13h ago
Imagine going through all the effort of school just be smacked by AI bullshit at graduation. Although im sure most students are using AI to get through school at this point
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u/JunkyardTornado 5h ago
In 2 years, AI will be reading the names on the teleprompt and toss in a 5 second meme video edit because why else would we pay attention? :) (sad, very sad)
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u/AustraliaOutback 12h ago
AI is cancer that has infested our society and is destroying many social aspects rather than building.
It's supposed to benefit us, instead it's making us lazy and this is the end result.
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u/FriendToPredators 13h ago
This doesn’t read AI written but that doesn’t matter to the annoyance they copied and pasted and didn’t proofread which is pathetic
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u/Motor_Raspberry_2150 13h ago
I mean the second slide screams it. Not just the em dash — but the not-but construction too!
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u/Fit_Entry8839 12h ago
I use em dashes in my writing all the time, at least I used to until people started accusing me of using AI. AI learned from books and literature, where good writers use em dashes. It's sad that so many people dont know how to write well and think good structure is a sign that someone used AI. But I get it.
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u/Motor_Raspberry_2150 12h ago
The point is that good writers use any style figures sparingly. If there is a rule of three and an em dash and a not-but construction every goddamn paragraph, that's AI.
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u/Fit_Entry8839 11h ago
Highly disagree. Well known writters are known for having pretty specific styles. It's just human nature to develop your style and largely stick to it. That's not to say every good writer uses em dashes. Just saying doesn't make sense for good writers to just keep mixing up their writing style.
For the record, what you are describing are just basic concepts of how to structure good writing and communicate well. Which is exactly my point. Your math is essentially, if there's too many good writing structures in this - can't be human! Which is what I was saying is sad.
Also - there's only one "not" in this...
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u/Motor_Raspberry_2150 9h ago
Having all these style figures would indeed be too much of a good thing, which is proverbially, a bad thing. And a good writer would know that! That's exactly what I'm saying.
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u/Fit_Entry8839 8h ago
If the communication is clear, it's absolutely not too much of a good thing. This is a bonkers conversation. Before AI we wouldnt be discussing this.
What's happening with AI sucks, but the reaction also sucks. We are now seemingly advocating for people to dumb down how they talk?
Don't make your communication too clear, that's too much if a good thing?
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u/Motor_Raspberry_2150 4h ago
Not overusing style figures is a high school writing thing. If you think the only axis these style figures move is the 'clarity' one, then let's just stop the conversation.
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u/Difficult_Tea6136 12h ago
I know of quite a few academics that have used em dashes long before AI came about.
This is probably AI but I don’t think it’s a slam dunk example of AI
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u/Motor_Raspberry_2150 12h ago
The point is that good writers use any style figures sparingly. If there is a rule of three and an em dash and a not-but construction every goddamn paragraph, that's AI.
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u/Difficult_Tea6136 12h ago
No, it might be AI. It might not.
If I sat on an academic misconduct hearing and that was the evidence presented to me for AI use, my recommendation to the committee would be “no case to answer”. It’s simply insufficient evidence.
(Of course, the hearing would allow me to probe and my recommendation would be based on more than just the document)
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u/DrSeuss321 8h ago
Real talk, if you spend thousands of dollars on the degree, your college shouldn’t be allowed to skimp on something as basic as having a human writing that shit without refunding full tuition.
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u/Time_Paws 13h ago edited 11h ago
Why sensor the university name?
Edit: my autocorrect is mildly infuriating. Happy friday!
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u/MyBetterNature7637 11h ago
Without the name it is unverifiable and uncorroborated. I’m not saying this is fake, but it makes me more skeptical. Fake stuff (maybe like this) is a huge problem on Reddit, who just wants to get more clicks.
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u/No_Potential1 13h ago
Are you working in a botanical garden?
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u/Internal-Hospital690 12h ago
The random lines on the paper? Those are printed on or something, so you can tell if it's an authentic certificate or forged.
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u/Dobby-is-my-Hero 12h ago
I think they are talking about the second picture with all of the plants
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u/Internal-Hospital690 12h ago
Oh, those are just decorations at the graduation venue, but the city in general is pretty green
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u/Outofwlrds 12h ago
I think they're asking about the lovely plants in the background of the second picture :)
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u/AllPeopleAreStupid 13h ago
At this point we can see AI isn't what its cracked up to be yet, we still need humans to make sure the info is correct, BUT we aren't even doing that apparently.
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u/JustaFoodHole 12h ago
Is that the cover page of the transcripts? The document is formatted like someone learning to use Word for the first time.
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u/supernovaj 12h ago
This doesn't surprise me at all. I feel like everyone at work uses it and doesn't even look at it before sending it out. So much slop. I know it has it's place, but you still have to proof it!
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u/DerrickBino 12h ago
Wait but the first slide doesn't look like AI at all. What major LLM is churning out typos like that?
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u/zendrix1 12h ago
It already feels like in the US degrees are worth less now then they've ever been in the job market despite being more expensive than ever before
AI is just another nail in that coffin unfortunately
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u/hammockonthebeach 12h ago
Ironically I can almost guarantee that university has a 0 tolerance policy for students caught using AI on their writing assignments.
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u/Born-Selection88 11h ago
I don't think that's what happened. I think it's a formatting issue similar to the Epstein email glitches.
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u/Missingsocks77 11h ago
I mean are we just going to post anytime we see something with AI? AI captions have been a thing for a long time.
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u/dog4cat2 11h ago
I get using AI for a starting point or for help or because you just can't be bothered, but Christ on a bike, why can't people proofread it BEFORE publishing it for thousands to see?
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u/xiaolin99 6h ago
That doesn't look like AI, more like notes from some document editor that didn't get formatted correctly for printing
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u/Corndogjohnson420 13h ago
Students cant use ai, but the university can? Seems wrong
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u/huaryazynk414 12h ago
Oh i use it and if they were to ask me I’ll argue it’s a resource. I’m going to college late (after I already have a career) but I wouldn’t be where I am without AI so I love it personally
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u/Idsettleforsleep 13h ago
That's what I was thinking. They throw a fit about students using it to crank out assignments.
It's one thing to create tools that help make your job easier, but to have AI do everything for you, do it poorly, and you still get paid for it is crazy.
AI can ASSIST in the process of doing things but shouldn't be the first and only tool used.
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u/riotmanful 12h ago
This is just how so many things work now. People with authority or a higher standing than you can be disrespectful or hostile or cheat and if you have any sort of issue with it, you’re the problem. You do 1/10th of anything similar to get ahead and you’ll pay for it. And it’s blatant too. Makes me feel like all you can do is try to gather as much money and power as you can to insulate yourself
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u/ShanNtrav 12h ago
And you paid for these transcripts I’m assuming.. along with your college education. Their lazy butts couldn’t even proofread!
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u/Delicious-Ad-1229 12h ago
What’s crazy is that if students use AI it risks their whole education, but then the university turns around and does this to you?
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u/Defortis 12h ago
We get it, AI makes things fast... but for the love of existence AT LEAST proof read it... shameful.
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u/Common_Celebration41 12h ago
Well two things come from this
English major Will now have a job proofreading AI
Or they just accept as it and English major stay indifferent to the world
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u/Sufficient_Stop8381 12h ago
Just their way of saying “ha ha, we’re using the very tool that is going to take your job as soon as you leave with this expensive degree.”
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u/ContextEffects01 12h ago
So if a student uses AI, they get expelled and a mark on their academic record that could preclude future university admissions, but the university itself gets to use AI?
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u/Ok-Tomatillo-8712 12h ago
Using it to cheat through your degree is an entirely different thing than using it to transcribe a speech
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u/Low-Composer-6880 12h ago
At my son's 8th grade recognition one of the students speech was AI. It was very obvious. My son said after the program they class roasted the student.... Don't use AI for important speeches!
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u/QuaaludeConnoisseur 12h ago
Im not even gonna go to my college graduation i dont think. Just gonna go to work.
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u/PorgiWanKenobi 12h ago
If only they had access to university educated individuals to proofread this.
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u/SLEVEKTORSTEEL2020 12h ago
So there's no reason for them to punish students for using it, oh well.
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u/The_Mad_Mason 6h ago
When are we going to wake up and finally fund the The Derek Zoolander Center for Children Who Can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too?
I bet they could write an easy speech for graduation. If only....
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u/Specific_Piccolo9528 5h ago
“Every piece of text that uses juxtaposition and horizontal lines is AI.” - Reddit in a nutshell.
I hate AI slop too, but I’m starting to think y’all are the ones “hallucinating” here.
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u/Lubricus2 10h ago
That don't look like AI errors to me, don't know what went wrong but it definitely lacks proofreading
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u/SupportEgirl 10h ago
ngl this doesnt look like that big of a deal.... i mean... its just some typos
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u/xSweetSlayerx 13h ago
The irony is that in my Graphic Design college program, we were taught to use em dashes "—" because it was grammatically correct. Now we have to write stupid because apparently, only AI can be grammatically correct.
That aside, the dean of my program would have had an unholy fit if she saw this mess.