Alicia Meehan, opinions editor
The consensus on AI is pretty divisive for college students. Some use it to study and chat with, but others avoid it for reasons such as the environmental impact, privacy and its negative impact on basic skills. Berry has introduced a new AI assistant Sylas to answer any question you may have about registration, housing and other parts of Berry life. It uses stored information about you to answer your questions as best as it can.
One of Berry’s biggest advertisements is the tight-knit community the campus provides. If a shy freshman has a question, they would be forced to come out of their shell by asking a fellow student. Many students have made close friendships by talking to their peers. By being an easy fix for questions, Sylas might prevent students from stepping out of their comfort zone and communicating with their peers, an important aspect of college life.
A general qualm that many people have with AI is that people fear it will replace human employees. What if students’ positions at the Information Desk in the Krannert building are put at risk by the AI chatbot’s accessibility? Sylas can be contacted by text and email, much quicker than going to the Krannert Info Desk and speaking to someone. Students rely on the money they earn from Lifeworks to buy food and gas. If this chatbot ends up replacing the student workers at the Info desk, and potentially other Lifeworks positions, some students will lose out on both an important income and human connection.
Likewise, other students will be negatively impacted by this hypothetical replacement of workers who can answer their questions. It is always helpful to ask multiple sources to figure out an answer to a problem, so having the confidence to ask people rather than an AI bot is important. Social interactions can be anxiety inducing, but it is a necessary evil to improve social skills, decrease social anxiety, etc.
According to the email sent out by OneStop, Sylas has access to a basic level of information about all students. We are nervous to hear that the AI program can form a general profile about a student, even knowing who a student is based solely on the phone number that texted it. Depending on the level of information given to the bot, it could feel like an invasion of privacy. Even though the info may stop somewhere at the level of class year, scholarships and accommodations, knowing that the AI knows who you are makes students uncomfortable.
A big part of why people are against the use of AI is its negative impacts on the environment. Data centers use water to cool the intense heat let off by the servers that run the commands needed to provide AI to the masses. Environmentally conscious students tend to refrain from using AI due to the water usage associated with it. Berry introducing a chatbot to do work that is already being done by humans feels unnecessary and wasteful for a nature-focused college
like Berry.
A lot of advertisements that come with AI chatbots and other AI assistants have to do with ease and shortening of tasks. While making things easier for us can generally be a good thing, it gets to a point. Becoming increasingly dependent on the help of AI for simple daily tasks or for “social” interaction can lead to ineptitude and alienation, respectively. Though Sylas can direct students to the office they may need to bring their questions to, students may lack the communication skills or confidence that they could have gained through previous interactions in similar situations.
When it comes to asking a question about housing, registration, etc., it can be very beneficial to ask a real person or persons. And, it is unhelpful in the long run to have an AI assistant answer every question. That being said, there could definitely be an improvement in how students get information online. Vikingweb is confusing to navigate and isn’t very good at answering questions that students may have. Instead of using AI tools like Sylas, Berry should dedicate time to tidy up Vikingweb to be more user friendly. Vikingweb should also be more transparent about the FAQs on the berry.edu website. Instead of using Sylas, Berry college can rework Vikingweb to lessen confusion with navigation and answer students’ questions through a specific page. Students can also ask around through peers, faculty and office staff to get the answers to their questions.