A pair of students at Falmouth University have created an online petition, demanding that the university revisits its artificial intelligence policy and bans the use of generative AI.
The petition, which has been live since Monday 3rd November, has already gained over 650 signatures – nearly 10% of the total number of students who attend Falmouth University.
Third year students Angel and Sage, who study Graphic Design and Costume Design respectively, decided to begin the movement after feeling a shift in the university’s attitude towards AI this academic year.
Sage said: “AI was talked about so negatively in our first year, and then now [Falmouth University] is talking about AI in such a positive light and encouraging using it.”
Students Angel (left) and Sage (right) are determined to “push the university’s AI policy in the right direction”.
The desire for a ban is based on concerns around stolen art, environmental impacts and an attack on creativity, and aims to urge the university to get “as close to a ban [on the use of generative AI] as possible”:
“It’s so hypocritical that the uni prides itself on sustainability, and then encourages AI, knowing the environmental impacts and the global population.”
Alongside the petition, Angel and Sage have created an Instagram account, where they have released informative posts about the impact of AI to over 500 followers.
As well as this, a hundred students responded to a survey with their opinions, with 80% saying they felt encouraged to use AI at university and 96% saying they didn’t want AI to be embedded into their course.
Students expressed feeling worried, disgusted and even appalled that they felt generative AI was being encouraged on their course, with over 80% citing that their art being stolen for use in AI learning was their biggest concern.
Student volunteers came together to distribute posters across the two Falmouth University campuses.
The university held a meeting on 12th November where they discussed the student concerns, and a spokesperson said that the issues surrounding AI demanded “critical consideration and engagement”:
“It’s incumbent on us, as a leading creative institution to approach it critically, to ensure our creative graduates not only understand its impact, but can harness its potential, navigate its risks and shape the future of the Creative Industries where AI will unavoidably be a part.”
However, according to the spokesperson, Falmouth University also acknowledged that it must “continue to champion the magic of creativity, the spark of human imagination, the depth of meaning and emotional resonance that no algorithm can replicate”.
The two students have said that they are considering further action if the petition isn’t successful, including in-person student protests, with Angel saying they are determined to see a change:
“I really do hope that they will listen and do something… it’s our last year [at Falmouth University] so we’re not going to be coming back – it’s more for the future students who come here.”