This episode is a great learning experience for the student body and the faculty.
When I receive a communication from a senior official, my expectations are as follows:
1) the communication was probably written by someone else
2) the contents of the communication were reviewed and approved by the senior official
If either of the associate deans (or a responsible intermediary, on behalf of the associate deans) had reviewed the communication, they would have made a note to remove the mention of ChatGPT. The outrage is completely justified, yet the communication itself would have been acceptable, if a human had written it.
We should let this moment of outrage pass. Whether the junior person is prompting an AI model or copy-pasting the best bits from previous communications, the senior person's role remains unchanged.
When I receive a communication from a senior official, my expectations are as follows:
1) the communication was probably written by someone else 2) the contents of the communication were reviewed and approved by the senior official
If either of the associate deans (or a responsible intermediary, on behalf of the associate deans) had reviewed the communication, they would have made a note to remove the mention of ChatGPT. The outrage is completely justified, yet the communication itself would have been acceptable, if a human had written it.
We should let this moment of outrage pass. Whether the junior person is prompting an AI model or copy-pasting the best bits from previous communications, the senior person's role remains unchanged.