Murray State students received a text from an unknown number on Tuesday, Feb. 17. It addressed them by name.
“It’s Dunker from Murray State University,” the message said. “I was created for Murray State students and use AI to assist you. … Let’s get started! Ask me about tutoring, student life, or even a tip for success.”
Whether or not they texted Dunker back, students voiced a spectrum of responses to Murray State’s new AI chatbot. While some see it as a useful tool, others see a waste of resources.
Ella Thompson, a sophomore studio art major, said implementing an AI version of our university mascot feels unnecessary and ridiculous.
“I think it’s really just playing off the novelty of ChatGPT,” Thompson said. “I think it’s kind of disappointing. It feels cheap, not to mention all the ethical concerns with AI.”
She said she has done research on AI usage’s effects before and is concerned that this program could overuse electricity, water and unethical working conditions.
“On all ends, (AI) is putting a major strain on systems that are already seeing a lot of issues due to how rampant technology is in general and making that 10 times worse,” Thompson said.
Abigail Price, a freshman marketing major, said she thinks the chatbot could be a valuable tool for students to conveniently voice their concerns, but she is not completely sold.
“I’m kind of excited to see where they go with it, but I’m not the most trustworthy of it just because of how complicated it can be,” Price said. “I don’t know if students would be … (like) ‘oh I’m gonna message the chatbot,’ but I do think with people having more anxiety over the phone, it could be easier for them to have a quick message for that.”
Price said she doesn’t see the chatbot as a replacement for human jobs.
“(The) point of a chatbot or AI in general is to help us,” Price said. “As time changes — like with the typewriter, that went away but into a new form — there’s just new forms. We’re never gonna really lose that.”
Alex Mills (they/them), a senior music education major, said the University doesn’t understand the implications AI chatbots carry and should not have given student information to the program without that student’s consent. They opted out of the chatbot program and blocked its number immediately after receiving the first message.
“I do not think it is something that should have been automatically sent to all the students, especially because the ‘message and data rates may apply,’” Mills said. “A lot of people can’t afford that stuff, so automatically sending these texts out is not really fair to (those) who may not be able to afford it. The University should have broadcasted as an available tool that students could reach out (to) … and enroll themselves in.”
According to an email announcement on Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Dunker AI chatbot is intended to “support you, answer your questions, and communicate important information,” but very few concrete details about the chatbot’s functions and limitations have been shared by University officials. Mills said they think the University has not considered the long-term effect of directing students’ questions and concerns to an AI instead of helping them directly connect with human-run resources on campus.
“It’s gonna take so many people to monitor this chatbot and the responses that they’re gonna have to hire more people to deal with it,” they said, “instead of having some sort of messaging service where a real person could contact the student and offer real support.”
The Murray State News welcomes students, faculty and staff to share more of their opinions on and experiences with the Dunker AI chatbot at [email protected] via email.
