Synthetic voice replaces human announcers, leaving students and social media divided over use of artificial intelligence

Graduates at New York City’s Pace University were met with an unexpected twist at their commencement ceremony — their names were read aloud by artificial intelligence, Voice, instead of traditional human announcers. The move, intended to streamline the event and improve pronunciation accuracy, has since gone viral and sparked debate across social media platforms.

A QR code and a robotic voice

In a widely shared video posted by @therundownai on Instagram, students were seen queuing up on stage, smartphones in hand. Upon reaching a designated point, each graduate displayed a QR code that was scanned by faculty. Almost immediately, a synthetic voice — raspy and unmistakably artificial — echoed their names through the venue’s sound system.

The university had instructed students in advance to log onto a website where they could phonetically spell out their names, ensuring correct pronunciation by the AI system during the ceremony. The tool was billed as a way to respect the diversity of names, avoiding common mispronunciations that have long plagued commencement ceremonies.

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Social media reacts: applause, criticism, and sarcasm

The digital substitution for human announcers has drawn mixed reactions online. Some users applauded the university’s tech-forward approach, especially for ensuring names were pronounced accurately.

“I would appreciate having my name said correctly,” wrote one Instagram user.

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Others, however, saw the move as emblematic of misplaced priorities in academia’s AI adoption.

“Imagine a school that would expel you for using AI to write a paper, but will use AI to read graduate names for them,” one commenter quipped. Another added, “This is just lazy,” reflecting broader concerns about the diminishing human element in milestone academic events.

AI’s growing footprint in education — and its consequences

The use of AI at graduation highlights the expanding role of artificial intelligence in higher education. While institutions experiment with AI tools to improve operations and personalize learning, recent studies suggest that this digital dependence may be coming at a cost.

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A study published earlier this year in the journal Societies found that extensive reliance on AI for cognitive tasks, such as decision-making and memory, may be impairing students’ critical thinking skills. Conducted with over 650 participants aged 17 and above in the UK, the research identified a phenomenon known as cognitive offloading, where users outsource mental tasks to technology, potentially dulling their ability to process information independently.

“Younger participants who exhibited higher dependence on AI tools scored lower in critical thinking compared to their older counterparts,” wrote lead author Michael Gerlich of the SBS Swiss Business School. Many participants admitted concerns about becoming overly reliant on AI, with some fearing that algorithmic bias might even influence their decision-making processes.

Tradition meets technology — but at what cost?

For many, graduation is a moment steeped in ceremony and tradition. The personal touch of hearing one’s name called by a professor or announcer has long been part of that experience. The introduction of AI, while potentially helpful in avoiding pronunciation gaffes, raises deeper questions about where efficiency ends and authenticity begins.

As AI becomes more embedded in educational environments, Pace University’s decision may be a harbinger of things to come — a moment where the balance between technological innovation and human connection is still being negotiated.

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