Students are calling for a ban on AI use in Gray’s School of Art at Robert Gordon University (RGU).
On April 8th, first-year student Molly Duncan published an open letter calling for the school to abolish the use of AI.
This comes amid increased use of generative artificial intelligence at Gray’s and across Scotland.
Students appear to be dissatisfied with AI policies at RGU, with more than 300 people signing a petition to ban AI from Gray’s School of Art.
The letter set out three demands:
- Education on generative AI – what it is, where it pulls information from and its impacts on both the environment and our development.
- Support and guidance on navigating careers in a world that favours AI.
- A complete ban and discouragement of generative AI amongst both staff and students at Gray’s School of Art.
The Gaudie spoke with Molly Duncan, who decided to produce the open letter because staff has been encouraging students to use AI:
“When we began to see the encouragement of Generative AI through project briefs as well as being used by staff to present our work, I knew I wanted to do something.”
Molly has been vocal on her anti-AI views in her personal life but saw little impact.
“This is when I decided to do something more direct. I wanted to create something in between an open letter and a petition which is why there is the option to sign the open letter,” she said.
According to Molly, the open letter is finally creating the buzz she wants to see.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I have received from family, friends, peers, students and the public – it’s been amazing!
“I’ve heard so many people talking about the use of generative AI in the past few days which is great to see,” added Molly.
The letter also emphasises the environmental harms of AI, with the excessive use of water being a main talking point. The letter states:
“As you can see, from an environmental standpoint, the use of AI is simply not worth the cost of our planet.”
Molly said she would like to see similar action taken at universities across Scotland, including University of Aberdeen. She said:
“This letter can be applied to any art school across Scotland (and beyond!). It is relevant to all courses, as everyone is affected by generative AI, particularly people within the creative industries.
“It’s amazing to see so many University of Aberdeen students showing support – the three demands can be applied to any educational environment!.”
In 2023, an FOI request by The Press and Journal showed RGU students connected to ChatGBT via Eduroam WiFi more than 2,400 times per month.
An RGU spokesperson then replied: “We are focusing on how we can guide our students to use ChatGPT in ways that enriches their learning and upholds academic integrity, rather than shutting it down.”
The Gaudie reached out to RGU for comment on the open letter and demand for the use of AI to be abolished in Gray’s School of Art, but received no comment.
The link to the petition can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF-gK2LS08fZQmXRRInMrvzZW0nTpSy-5bwobFu64N9PTXXw/viewform.