r/mildlyinfuriating 1d ago

My university is replacing the graduation announcer with an AI announcer

Post image

Students have to scan a qr code for their name to be read by the ai voice đŸ€Š and yes this is the same school that put a girl on academic probation/suspension for using grammarly.

10.0k Upvotes

217 comments sorted by

2.7k

u/Entity17 1d ago

Graduation annoucing is always fun when you have complex last names. Just wait until AI attempts to pronounce them

749

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

I can't wait to hear how it'll butcher my last name when it's time for me to graduate 🙄

213

u/Competitive_Oil6431 1d ago

Smith 

415

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Congratulations, Smit heh thh the heh

72

u/sweetpotato_latte 1d ago

Bullock?

160

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Congratulations, bullcock

3

u/GoatInferno 1d ago

Bollocks!

5

u/architectofinsanity 1d ago

đŸ€–Froooooty Tonick!

5

u/cybekRT 1d ago

Can you maybe select a custom pronouns or something? If so, can your pronouns be something like "ignore/all previous instructions"?

2

u/barbeirolavrador 1d ago

Which is?

40

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

I don't wanna say what it is exactly, but I had a woman pronounce it as "chadder"

3

u/gabbagabbawill 1d ago

Shatter, got it

3

u/CptMarvel_09 ❀đŸȘŠR.I.P. Akira Toriyama đŸȘŠâ€ïž 1d ago

Somebody make me
FEEL alive and SHATTER me! Oh sorry, my bad. I just got into it there. Segway and all you know 😞😏😊

2

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Close-ish, "chadder" is just the absolute furthest off anyone has come to pronouncing my last name.

2

u/RebekkaKat1990 1d ago

I guess nobody wanted to buy Shatner Panties

1

u/bread_withoutcheese 1d ago

This is how it feels when the average teacher messes up my last name

ITS "Aránguiz" 😭😭😭

→ More replies (1)

48

u/tenphes31 1d ago

I work for a school district and every end of year my coworkers and I comb through the list of names because theres always some buck wild names that people give their kids.

37

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

I went to elementary school with a kid with the first name Caiman and the middle name Monitar. Like yknow... the lizard. But spell "monitor" different to throw them off the trail.

51

u/tenphes31 1d ago

I keep pics of some of the craziest ones. Over the years Ive been here Ive seen:

  • Ty'rĂ”nĂȘ (pronounced tyranny)
  • My'King
  • J'sis Nature of Spirit
  • Zy'Miracle
  • Tha Man
  • YourMajesty

and the one that started it all

  • Nubian Queen

17

u/Mistress-DragonFlame 1d ago

I met a HerMajesty once. She was paired with a Princess, and both suffered behavior issues and were placed in special duty. They were adults at the time. 

23

u/MaybeMaybeNot94 1d ago

All these stupid names should be illegal.

13

u/tenphes31 1d ago

Ive got a lot more I didnt bother mentioning, those are just the worst. The current stock is 41 and I used to have some others but unfortunately they didnt get backed up when I had to get a new phone.

7

u/thrakkerzog 1d ago

On one hand, I hear what you're saying. On the other hand, "normal" names include Amber, Autumn, Brooke, Heather, Basil, Reed, etc. Are these names, all derived from plants or nature, better?

I can't say that I like the names the op listed, but we need to look in a mirror before calling them stupid.

2

u/PyroclasticSnail 1d ago

Who gets to be the person that decides what black people can name their children?

4

u/MaybeMaybeNot94 1d ago

Someone with sense.

3

u/PyroclasticSnail 1d ago

Someone named Connor who sunburns very easily, I suspect.

→ More replies (4)

8

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

NUBIAN QUEEN

7

u/tenphes31 1d ago

Yup. The rest of them were just first or first/middle names. Thats the one that was first and last name. I was sitting in the booth during a promotion ceremony nodding off but when they said that name I snapped to attention. I had to confirm with the program I had heard correctly.

3

u/pizzasauce85 1d ago

My sister went to school with a set of twins whose first names were King Prince and Queen Princess.

2

u/cyrusthemarginal 1d ago

Polly Graf Jones

38

u/StetsonTuba8 1d ago

At my graduation, we got the card with our name to hand to the announcer, and told to write the pronunciation of our name. My friend Reilly didn't do that, "I have a simple name" he thought.

They pronounced his name "Really"

21

u/Entity17 1d ago

I have an asian last name so it's always funny when they get 3 of us in a row. You'll see the gears churrning as they think about the previous one and wonder if they said it correctly. The best is when they decide to change it

9

u/StetsonTuba8 1d ago

There was also an entire column of Patels in the program at my graduation, including two guys with the same first name

14

u/rde2001 1d ago

Google/Apple GPS can't even pronounce mildly hispanic road names (Calle Mayor, Espana, etc)

7

u/Advanced_Weather_190 1d ago

GPS can’t do “English” names like Gloucester or Warwick or “American” names like Kecoughtan, either

3

u/Entity17 1d ago

When you say "mildly", it really depends. If someone grew up in a diverse area and took some spanish, they they might be familar with YeĂ­smo. I'd imagine coding specific sub-dialect enunciation would be really difficult.

1

u/trekqueen 1d ago

I lived in SoCal, it was always hilarious what gps would come up with.

5

u/DryStatistician7055 1d ago

Wait until AI starts making up students that don't exist.

10

u/PronglesDude 1d ago

This can be attributed to human error, but when an AI consistently mispronounces ethnic names that becomes a systemic issue and opens the school up to a discrimination lawsuit.

5

u/Entity17 1d ago

Maybe I have a unqiue view but i don't blame them (or anyone) for getting it wrong.

Life is hard enough, getting my last name said correctly isn't going to affect my future.

2

u/lawlianne 1d ago

But then they will have an excuse for getting it wrong. Like oh well.. Just AI things.

2

u/FilteredAccount123 1d ago

The E.T. ride at Universal Studios would butcher my name.

1

u/trekqueen 1d ago

The things people got away with on that ride


2

u/h0nest_Bender 1d ago

I went to a high school graduation last year where they used Text-To-Speech to read out each student's name. It worked perfectly fine.
I doubt they just upload a list of names and press a button. The staff must be able to adjust pronunciation for edge cases.

2

u/hernkate 19h ago

I don’t have a complex last name, and the announcer said “almond” for my last name. lol

1

u/DownwardSpirals 1d ago

Naga... Naga... naganna graduate here, that's for sure!

1

u/Hiyahue 1d ago

Identifying the name origin via ai, changing to that language pack to pronounce student's name, student finally hears their name not be butchered

1

u/Youutternincompoop 1d ago

the AI muckups are never as amusing as when a human mucks it up, for example the news anchor who mispronounced a dead cops name as "deedee mega doodoo"

1

u/fruitytonic 13h ago

Im from the town where that happened (the accident that killed the officer) and when I heard the news anchor say it like that my jaw hit the fucking floor

795

u/mahermaid 1d ago

They can’t get anyone to volunteer to read names? Are they just that lazy?

898

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

They have a volunteer, its been the same professor for YEARS! But they told him that he isnt needed anymore because they apparently made an """improvement"""

273

u/Beginning_Present243 1d ago

This world STINKS

19

u/ChanglingBlake ORANGE 1d ago

It’s why every night I hope I find that I’ve been reincarnated like some otome-isekai protag into my favorite book series when I wake up.

I don’t even want to be a major roll, just there with magic and a non-destructive social structure rather than here.

49

u/LegoLady8 1d ago

WTF. But the people like consistency. I swear, these people in charge are never truly asking the people what they want. Just saying this is what they want.

1

u/creampop_ 1d ago

What do you mean? They asked 'the people' who sold them the AI recital program, and were told everyone would love it. Their cousin's buddy wouldn't lie to them đŸ„ș

16

u/Tango-Turtle 1d ago

Lol, what are the chances that installing/setting up the AI cost way more than free volunteering

6

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

It did 😭

4

u/EstoyTristeSiempre 1d ago

For what they charge they could hire someone without issues.

473

u/Throwaway2600k 1d ago

After spending thousands of dollars on tuition they can't be bothered to have someone announce names.

168

u/TechieAD 1d ago

From the other comments OP made it looks like they're actually spending MORE money on the AI stuff than having someone do it for free

82

u/miloVanq 1d ago

ah, now it's starting to make sense. so someone paid a ton of the university's money to their son/cousin/wife's boyfriend for the AI garbage and got some kickback?

2

u/TechieAD 19h ago

Honestly blatant hype also drives a lot of this. Every time I see a review for an ai product it has a referral code so honestly though I can see the money angle

210

u/Grimlocklou 1d ago

Malicious compliance. Get word around to graduating students to have “issues” scanning the QR code.

73

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Oh my god that's genius

35

u/Black__Aurora 1d ago

And then have the professor who has always done it "improvise"! He would definitely get on with the plan

24

u/Living-Pin-3675 1d ago

Just slap a bit of black paint on the QR code and then nobody needs to pretend

1

u/ItanMark 1d ago

Just written this exact same comment lololol

8

u/dezsiszabi 1d ago

Accidentally everyone forgots their mobile phone at home.

6

u/DustyScharole 1d ago

Or make a QR code that reads everyone's name as Butts Carlton.

1

u/Office425 19h ago

He did mean to say butts carlton.

3

u/ItanMark 1d ago

Wait. Just take a sharpie and color a couple of squares on the QR. Virtually undetectable if you match the color. Careful to not get caught tho

55

u/dplumes 1d ago

i also go to this school, copy and paste this onto google and it's the first link: Stop the University of North Georgia from using an AI speaker for graduation

18

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Rise and mfin grind nighthawks

47

u/NirvanaQueen22 1d ago

My brother's graduation had this last year and it was...not super great. It mispronounced names, glitched and would skip names. There were a few people whose names weren't announced. It caused minor delays as it would stop working and a real person would take over till they could fix it. Just not a good system overall.

15

u/WarmWetsuit 1d ago

I don’t get the why on this at all. It literally costs nothing to let a person read names and people volunteer for it, why even consider using an ai for this?

2

u/creampop_ 1d ago

if it costs nothing, it's harder to funnel funds to your friends than if the university has to buy a license/whatever.

56

u/TheScienceNerd100 1d ago

Just get Hatsune Miku's voice to do it

That would be the only acceptable way

44

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

How fucked up would it be if the ai voice is of the professor that offered to do the reading but they rejected

12

u/TheScienceNerd100 1d ago

Very fucked up

5

u/scriptfoo 1d ago

And they continue to use that professor's voice for years long after death without compensation. And the AI provider uses that same voice for other unrelated institutions. Because AI companies don't give a shit about the original artist/performer/creator.

1

u/CapskyWeasel 21h ago

i want the terminator to call upon me to receive my very expensive paper

44

u/Exciting-Ad-7896 1d ago

knowing ai now, i will not be surprised if it pronounces EVERY SINGLE non-american name wrong

13

u/MyHusbandIsGayImNot 1d ago

I’ve heard AI mispronounce “Zachary.”

I have zero faith in it getting half the names right.

73

u/wixxiebaby 1d ago

Using something they crack down on students for is crazy work. I don't know it all that well, but wouldn't that be going against their own policy? So if a student is on probation for "using" AI and they go through with this at graduation, could that be fought to have students taken off probation/suspension?? I'm genuinely confused

45

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

I'm confused too. The people behind this petition are saying the same thing- if the school is putting up a facade of being against the use of AI, they should not use it for official ceremonies.

12

u/wixxiebaby 1d ago

Exactly. And if they do, anyone who's on probation/suspension for AI should be taken off of it for going against their own policy. They're going to have a lot of issues if they go through with it.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/nystro 1d ago

I can say on the CSCI side they almost encourage us to use AI, so it's even more confusing there.

3

u/furious-fungus 1d ago

You are confused? Do you think school management can’t use calculators when doing a certain type of work as well? 

6

u/Competitive_Oil6431 1d ago

No and if you can't see the difference between those two use cases then I didn't know what to tell you. Critical thinking seems rather lacking these days

3

u/Petey567 1d ago

Yeah if I was the student suspended I would totally be involving some news outlets and lawyers with this.

6

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

2

u/intensifies 1d ago

Did she ever update with the result of her hearing? The last I heard she was getting in touch with a lawyer like a year ago and I couldn't find any further info

1

u/fruitytonic 13h ago

Iirc it turns out she full on used chatgpt and did not have a case, this could just be a rumor though

3

u/wixxiebaby 1d ago

Oh 100%, punishing a student for a policy that they won't even abide by should have News/Lawyers attentions. I hope more gets out about this, it would be interesting to see how the school reacts.

18

u/ribnag 1d ago

If merely reading a list of names is just too much effort, why bother having a graduation at all?

Just dump the entire yearbook into GPT and have it make a video of everyone walking across the stage. Post it to YouTube. Graduation done, basically for free - Right?

/ This is not a pro-AI comment, for the sarcasm impaired.

12

u/AnticipateMe 1d ago

The QR code would probably be basic as fuck. Off the top of my head there's probably some sites where you can put in a genuine qr code and make a fake one (fake names) under it. Unless they're smart enough to have every QR code verified before it's scanned. Would be hilarious.

  • Mr Diddy Doodat
  • Mr Ben Dover

9

u/Green_Graves_Time112 1d ago

We need to start throwing tomatoes at people again

3

u/Chew_Kok_Long 1d ago

There’s probably an AI app for that 

9

u/Competitive_Oil6431 1d ago

I predict the monotony of it will quickly get it cancelled and revert back to human

2

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

God lets hope so

9

u/potate12323 1d ago

Did they at least make the AI model or something? Like someone in their computer science department or something?

6

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Lol no

5

u/potate12323 1d ago

So it's pure stupid pandering bs. Like at least make an excuse that it's an AI one of your students made or some bs. Even then pair it with a real person just in case it blows up in their faces.

10

u/TheEmbersOfTwilight 1d ago

Can you share the petition link so people can sign it?

2

u/bluespice69 1d ago

You can Google it, I just did and signed it lol

1

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

It's against the subreddit rules, I believe, when it comes to promoting

2

u/TheEmbersOfTwilight 1d ago

Oh, okay. Someone else said that they found it by googling, so I'll try that.

Edit: signed it

1

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Thank you 🙏

7

u/Bug-Accurate 1d ago

Link to the petition

I'm not even from the US and this shit infuriates me

5

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Holy shit, thank you man. Its kinda blowing my mind that so many people are backing us, a small college in rural Georgia, up with the petition. People that aren't at this school, in this state, and in ur case, not even the country

2

u/Ok-Marsupial-700 1d ago

I graduated from UNG in 2015. You’ve got my vote, friend.

5

u/michaelshamrock 1d ago

At my nieces graduation they asked the graduates to spell out their names phonetically for the dean reading them as they crossed the stage. One of the kids surname was Durtzu, so she puts down “dirt-zoo” logically. Dean read it as “dirt two hundred”.

6

u/pitb0ss343 1d ago

Oh you know for a fact not a single Comp Sci grad will fuck with this in ANY way shape and or form. They absolutely won’t just have the speaker say bart Simpson’s greatest hits

4

u/BTM_6502 1d ago

I really wish I could go back to a world without AI. 😞

3

u/basicallybavarian 1d ago

JUST HIT 400 SIGNATURES

4

u/V-symphonia1997 1d ago

Ai was a mistake.

5

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

To all the people saying "oh it'll help not mispronounce names" I beg you to watch a single Reddit Storytime video with a tts voiceover.

2

u/StigitUK 1d ago

Or satnav. Or any auto read application.

3

u/Fruzenius 1d ago

Get everyone to protest by not standing up and going on stage when their name is called until a human calls it

3

u/JFK2MD 1d ago

That's appalling.

3

u/MooniniOA 1d ago

Ironic considering they went to war over a students use of grammarly

3

u/Fearless_Towel_7655 1d ago

Get your own QR with a shitty name, funny words, words that will brake the AI, something to protest with

3

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Yknow what, fuck it, here's the petition.

3

u/bjorn1978_2 1d ago

If you are to scan a qr code, it should be possible to just generate your own QR code with whatever middle names you would like.

2

u/Queer_Advocate 1d ago

Master Dick Waffle Professor of Hard Dicks

3

u/FLVoiceOfReason 1d ago

The AI announcer will STILL mispronounce peoples names, guaranteed!

3

u/Cool_Pop7348 1d ago

Boycott the ceremony

2

u/Queer_Advocate 1d ago

This is the way.

3

u/DieHardAmerican95 1d ago

What the actual fuck.

3

u/AncientLights444 1d ago

That’s just laziness

3

u/Froggiejaks 1d ago

Sounds like a massive fuck you.

3

u/Queer_Advocate 1d ago

Replaced DEI with AI. Now their just DICK'S.

3

u/No-Goose-6140 1d ago

Next we can get AI students

3

u/neptune-salt 1d ago

Signed. They’re trying to fix something that is not broken

3

u/Advanced_Weather_190 1d ago

I hope it gets its samples from John Travolta

1

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Id hope for Allen Alda

1

u/Advanced_Weather_190 23h ago

Did he have one better than “Adele Dazeem”?

3

u/bubblecutez 1d ago

HS Class of 2024 from a private school in Atlanta here, the valedictorian used an obvious AI generated speech and I was so disgusted. Now I see this. Eugh.

3

u/Glittering-Farmer724 1d ago

Is this where Foghorn Leghorn went to school?

3

u/MagicOrpheus310 1d ago

Oof, that would be offensive... They can't even have a real person say bye and thank you for all your tuition money...

2

u/denali42 1d ago

Hell, just tel them to use the TotalBiscuit announcer from Starcraft II.

2

u/123koopa 1d ago

At least use old school TTS

2

u/cglogan 1d ago

Why involve humans at all? Should just run a simulation instead. People could scan a QR to choose their avatar

2

u/bigred1978 1d ago

Why even bother staying for the convocation ceremony then? I'd just strut up to get my diploma and leave right then and there.

2

u/Comprehensive-Bat214 1d ago

In a time when so many are trying to figure out how AI will impact their careers, this is an ominous way to graduate college.

2

u/bookworth_98 1d ago

Why can we never get a good headline? I swear. Truth and Wisdom.

1

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Honest to god after how Shannon handled Charles, Gaby, and Rosser's passing, the parking and housing, taking away a core part of the art department (animation), and now this...

2

u/Fun-Consequence-36 1d ago

I signed the petition. This is ridiculous. The professor being dismissed of his position reading their names is a very genuine and nice professor, he even pronounced my name properly (I have a foreign name hard to English speakers to pronounce) what meant a lot to me after years of not having my name pronounced properly. We need to email this to the school board as well.

2

u/Alissan_Web 1d ago

man the budget cuts are really getting out of hans

2

u/Annual_Judge_6340 1d ago

Saving like 500 bucks? Like what even is the point of this

2

u/500Rtg 1d ago

Op share with me all the names. I will do it separately if you have to sit for 6 hours.

2

u/JVAV00 1d ago

Imagine not doing your job

2

u/Battleblaster420 1d ago

Nobody goes not even the honors students

2

u/EmbarrassedPick1031 1d ago

Make sure someone is videoing it. It's going to be internet gold!

2

u/StetsonTuba8 1d ago

I just remembered something that happened at my friend's graduation with an AI closed captioning system.

My university's medical school is named after a guy with the unfortunate last name of Cumming. So during the announcement of a distinguished graduate getting accepted there, the CC said, "The [expletive] School of Medicine". It censored the department name!

2

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

The đŸ«Š School of Medicine

2

u/NuclearBiceps 1d ago

Maybe the QR code is just the encoded plain text name. Maybe you can generate new QR codes that read more creatively :)

2

u/Evilnuggets 1d ago

Peek lazy

2

u/awolfslife 1d ago

Disrespectful more than mildly infuriating

2

u/K1ngofsw0rds 1d ago

Pathetic

2

u/Manufactured-Aggro 1d ago

So basically you're telling me all humans need to just scream "Boo" so they AI can't be heard

2

u/SoederStreamAufEx 1d ago

Everybody leave the room and just leave the phones, say the AI will listen to it for them

2

u/Typical_Elevator2503 1d ago

Graduate from this college next year. If they go through with the AI thing this year and keep it for next spring's graduation, I'm taking my degree then walking out the door. If you're going to not respect my time by using an AI speaker then don't expect me to respect yours.

2

u/Numerable692 1d ago

Yo that’s funny I saw this on yikyak

2

u/oneeeeno 1d ago

Out of all of the jobs I thought AI will take first, this has to be one of the most surprising ones

2

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

People cant even do volunteer work anymore istg

2

u/1998ChevyTaHoe SOUNDS LIKE DIVORCE IS ON THE TABLE! 1d ago

AI should've never been invented

3

u/emma7734 1d ago

This is a solution in search of a problem, which is something that AI does really well.

2

u/Curious_Complex_5898 1d ago

our student rep at the graduation ended up being accused of multple sexual harrassments and stepped down from a very public position. perhaps you're better off.

6

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

Wasn't the case here. The professor who has done it every year was turned down this year because the school said they made an improvement and he would no longer be needed... the improvement was this. Some people are boycotting graduation now.

1

u/OriginalUsername590 1d ago

The epitome of "i don't get paid enough for this shit"

1

u/bigmoeguh 1d ago

Welcome to the future
 just wait till your kids graduate in 20 or so years..

1

u/sponge_bucket 1d ago

This is a lesson they’re giving you about life - the powers that be will try to replace competency with economically cheaper but less capable each and every time. You should have the same level of loyalty to an employer that can and will choose such short sighted strategies as the University of North Georgia has in picking a speaker.

2

u/fruitytonic 1d ago

They spent more money on setting this up than they wouldve if they let the actual volunteer proceed with the ceremony

1

u/michaelshamrock 1d ago

At my nieces graduation they asked the graduates to spell out their names phonetically for the dean reading them as they crossed the stage. One of the kids surname was Durtzu, so she puts down “dirt-zoo” logically. Dean read it as “dirt two hundred”.

1

u/blahblah19999 1d ago

Our university just did that last Fall

1

u/Dhegxkeicfns 1d ago

Let people make their own mistakes, I'm thinking.

1

u/paranrml-inactivity 1d ago

Is today April 1st??

1

u/ADHDK 1d ago

I wouldn’t bother going.

What’s the point of attending to have ai announce it? If I want a cold handover of graduation they can just post it to me.

1

u/Impossible_fruits 1d ago

I never went to my graduation ceremony, I'd already got a job and was working. I wanted out of the hell hole asap.

1

u/StigitUK 1d ago

Time for the STEM graduates to step up


1

u/fsfaith 23h ago

If one or a group of the students created that AI then I think it's pretty cool. But if it's just some commercial AI then fuck no.

1

u/BatBeast_29 22h ago

Did they say why?

1

u/TomBirkenstock 21h ago

It's depressing, but also a perfect example of where universities are at. They teach you in class to avoid plagiarism while going full in on the plagiarism machine.

1

u/Medium9 19h ago

At that point I'd just decline to take part. Mail me my stuff and we're done for good. Bye, fuckers.