By: Sophie Robinson ’29 & Griffin Sanner ’29
Generative AI proves to be a source of conflict in our school’s environment. You will meet people who dislike it in its entirety, people who don’t mind it, and people who use it frequently. Even though many people have mixed opinions about this subject, there is one factor that is more important to argue, and that is the usage of AI images in our school.
Recently, the usage of AI-generated images has increased substantially among the faculty and the student body, though teachers and faculty still denounce it quite frequently. This is a controversial situation, but how does this hypocrisy represent our school and our community?
The core factors of our community at MVS include integrity and grit, which are the exact values that go against AI generated images. AI models are trained off of human-made art and generate a crude generalization of millions of pieces that are put into their databases. These art pieces that train AI models are notoriously known for being stolen without the artist’s consent, which means AI images are inherently theft. Along with this, the school having an entire arts department and deciding to use AI generated images feels lazy, and as if a shortcut was obviously used just to save some time. Knowing this, it reveals the hypocritical action of using generative AI for our school’s decoration, or promotion. – Griffin
Multiple students and faculty members have talked with Dr. Munhofen about how the use of Generative AI has shown up artistically in our school. Some were upset with the premise of using Generative AI artistically, while others were upset by how it made our school look. This is because some people argue that it makes our school look less professional. This has led to a competition for students to design the school locker design. That way, more students’ voices are able to be expressed, we can build a community that welcomes student-made art, and it could even inspire students to speak out against issues they see with the school. Dr. Munhofen sent out a form with the option to attach art by September 11th. One student submitted their art, and if you are interested in changing your locker tag to this design, respond to his new form.
MVS wants to create an environment where the student voices are heard. This has led Dr. Munhofen to start discussing the idea of starting a student-led group to voice the students’ opinions on school issues. He already thought there needed to be an easier way to hear the students’ voices, and now he has confirmed that he wants to start one. This will be primarily about AI use at school. If you are interested in participating or learning more about this group, please contact Dr. Munhofen with any questions. – Sophie
