A student at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania lambasted their college after the admissions office posted an AI-generated image on social media.
In the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, the student explained that KU is "renowned" for its art program, offering studies in animated arts, art history, communication design, and art — the last of which covers everything from drawing to printmaking to photography.Â
However, Kutztown University Admissions (@admissions_ku) apparently overlooked that fact, following in the footsteps of other organizers and companies that have slapped together artificial intelligence-based artwork without considering a skilled artist for the job.Â
While a school art project may not come with the level of pay that awaits creative professionals, commenters on Reddit still feared it was an ominous sign of what's to come.
"Art is dead. Genie out of the bottle. Best get a nice boring job and weather the storm for the next century or so," one person wrote.Â
"Oh honey, they just didn't want to pay an artist," another said, to which the OP replied, "They have enough money, and there are students that would do it for FREE."Â
Public outcry provoked an apology from the Instagram account, according to the OP, who pointed out that it's "still not cool that it happened in the first place." Unfortunately, the upsetting art department snub may not be the only impact of the AI-generated golden bear.
That's because producing an image with generative AI requires as much energy as it takes to power up a smartphone, according to a study analyzed by MIT Technology Review. Even small AI data centers go through millions of liters of water annually.Â
Per the Environmental Protection Agency, less than 1% of water on the planet is available for humans to use, making responsible management of the precious resource all the more crucial. To that end, more efficient cooling systems and simplified algorithms could help.
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Yes — it sets a positive example ⛪ "As a Kutztown alumni, this [hurts] my heart," another Redditor said.Â
"AI should do dishes, not art," someone else suggested.
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