AI use by VCUarts department angers, scares students

Max Walpole, Contributing Writer

The VCU Department of Communication Arts made an Instagram post on Oct. 10 that students accused of using artificial intelligence-generated images. In response, the communication arts department chair, Jason Bennett, released a statement in which he said the post was not vetted before it was published.

The department will hold a roundtable discussion in the next four weeks and concurrently create a departmental statement on AI, according to the statement.

The department chose to keep the post up “as it serves a valuable point for discussion,” according to the statement.

“Faced with the choice between avoidance and awareness, we choose awareness and curiosity,” the statement read. “These values are the foundation of education and its relevance in a rapidly evolving society.”

The creator of the post’s images, associate professor of arts TyRuben Ellingson, made a statement in the comments section of the Instagram post.

Ellingson wrote the images were not primarily created with AI. One was a combination of images from the movies “Blade II” and “The Lost Boys,” and the other was an image he drew in Adobe Photoshop. He edited the images with a variety of software, including Photoshop plugins, one of which utilizes AI, according to the comment.

Ellingson said because most students were busy with midterms, he decided to create the images himself.

Ellingson declined requests for further comments and said he preferred to express his views on AI during the roundtable discussion.

Dev Partangel, a third-year communication arts student, was one of several students who reacted negatively to the post. Partangel said they were outraged that the communication arts department was using AI instead of the work of students.

A comment left by someone who worked with Ellingson stated they had asked a student to create a poster for the event, but turned to AI when they were unhappy with the artwork the student created, Partangel said.

“That really angered me because our university prides itself on being the best art school in Virginia,” Partangel said. “And if you’re going to ask a student to create work, then you should use the student’s work that they give you.”

Partangel said they were skeptical of Ellingson’s statement that the images were not entirely generated by AI because there were obvious signs they were, such as extra or missing body parts. They said they were particularly angered by a perceived double standard on the part of the communication arts department, which prohibits AI use in any part of an assignment.

“I think it’s really hypocritical for most of comm arts to prohibit the use of AI and then to turn around and use AI in the post,” Partangel said.

Leila Ugincius, senior public relations specialist for the university, said the post did not violate VCU’s AI guidelines because Ellingson acknowledged he used AI when creating the images.

A suggested syllabus statement from the current VCU student and faculty guidelines on AI stated that using AI on an assignment without permission or not citing the AI tool used would be considered plagiarism and academic misconduct.

The guidelines specified that the sample syllabus was not an official VCU policy, but instead “it is guidance for a possible statement that you may choose to apply when addressing AI use in your classes.”

Echo Hoboy, a fourth-year communication arts student, said above all other feelings, they were disappointed by the usage of AI in the post.

“I feel like it reflects almost a lack of faith that the department has in their students because countless students would have been happy to contribute to creating a post like this for the department and for the Instagram account,” Hoboy said.

Hoboy said they were satisfied with Bennett’s statement.

“I felt that that was handled with grace and respect,” Hoboy said. “There’s a little bit of, again, some skepticism of, like, is this just to cover their asses, or is this genuine?”

Despite this, Hoboy said they still had concerns about how the round table discussion could shape VCU’s policy towards AI.

“I really hope they’re willing to consider how the students feel about this, because we may be young, but we’re not idiots,” Hoboy said.

Hoboy said they were afraid that professors in favor of AI would push for the department to sanction and adopt the regular usage of AI.

“I fear it’s going to sway the department’s decision,” Hoboy said. “And if it does and if it ends up creating a space within the community where AI is welcome and encouraged and potentially classes are made about it and for it, I fear that, you know, it does have the potential to really impact the industry in a negative way.”

Hoboy said they had already lost one job because of AI, and now the future of their career and livelihood seemed in doubt.

“It’s scary right now. It’s honestly terrifying, with all the AI stuff,” Hoboy said. “I probably never would have gone into art if AI-art and AI-generated images existed when I graduated high school.”