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Futurism
Students Show Up to Graduation, Find Commencement Speaker Is an AI Robot
Frank Landymore
Thu, May 16, 2024 at 5:01 PM EDT
2 min read
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/students-show-graduation-commencement-speaker-210113515.html
Platitudes Galore
You'd hope that universities would celebrate their students' graduation with a memorable ceremony. But for the graduating class at D'Youville University last weekend, their commencement was arguably one to forget.
With Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" blasting the auditorium, the institution brought a humanoid AI-powered robot on stage to address the over 2,000 bright-eyed youths in attendance.
The corny choice of walk-up song was perhaps the sole endearing element of its appearance. Dressed in a D'Youville hoodie and with its brain exposed, Sophia, as the robot's called, spun-off generic advice in dry, synthetically-inflected tones. It did not give a scripted speech, but answered questions from the emcee. The whole charade drew "mixed reactions" from the crowd, The New York Times reports — with many students feeling downright insulted.
"Congratulations to all the graduating students," Sophia intoned, at one point brandishing a creepy, full-toothed grin.
Students Show Up to Graduation, Find Commencement Speaker Is an AI Robot
Frank Landymore
Thu, May 16, 2024 at 5:01 PM EDT
2 min read
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/students-show-graduation-commencement-speaker-210113515.html
Platitudes Galore
You'd hope that universities would celebrate their students' graduation with a memorable ceremony. But for the graduating class at D'Youville University last weekend, their commencement was arguably one to forget.
With Daft Punk's "Robot Rock" blasting the auditorium, the institution brought a humanoid AI-powered robot on stage to address the over 2,000 bright-eyed youths in attendance.
The corny choice of walk-up song was perhaps the sole endearing element of its appearance. Dressed in a D'Youville hoodie and with its brain exposed, Sophia, as the robot's called, spun-off generic advice in dry, synthetically-inflected tones. It did not give a scripted speech, but answered questions from the emcee. The whole charade drew "mixed reactions" from the crowd, The New York Times reports — with many students feeling downright insulted.
"Congratulations to all the graduating students," Sophia intoned, at one point brandishing a creepy, full-toothed grin.
