Social Media Manager: Samantha McCarthy

Email: smccarthy12@umassd.edu

With the Spring 2026 semester opening with more snow than we’ve seen in the past few years, the first day of classes were canceled. To announce that classes would begin Tuesday, January 27th, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Kimberly Scott uploaded the following announcement on Instagram to both the UMass Dartmouth Student page (@umassd_students) and her personal account (@vp_scottie).

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be an issue. But, taking a closer look, you can see discrepancies within the image that you wouldn’t recognize as a member of the university.

After assessing this image, I as well as several other students and members of The Torch suspect use of generative artificial intelligence (genAI). There are three qualities that stand out that make this image appear AI-generated.

Firstly, this building in the back of the photo.

This building does not exist on the UMass Dartmouth campus. While it appears to be constructed of the same concrete that makeup almost all the buildings, this is definitely not one located on this campus nor once belonged to the STAR Store in New Bedford. 

Secondly, who is this mascot?

This design looks similar to our beloved mascot, Arnie the Corsair, but it’s not quite him. This representation seems to be a stereotypical pirate with a “D” on his hat compared to official Arnie logo on the right that lacks any letters on him. 

Thirdly, take a look at the UMass Dartmouth logo itself. 

This logo does not display the standard “U” but, instead, a swirl that slightly bleeds into the white, not-quite “M”. This is a common distortion made by generative AI when it attempts to create letters or text. 

If genAI creates images based on the prompts and materials it’s fed, why are there discrepancies? According to Canva’s AI image generator section, “[t]o create AI generated images, the machine learning model scans millions of images across the internet along with the text associated with them. The algorithms spot trends in the images and text and eventually begin to guess which image and text fit together. Once the model can predict what an image should look like from a given text, it creates entirely new images for you to choose from.” 

So, in short, AI is not replicating or directly reproducing images but is instead creating new ones based on trends of what is already on the internet. This is why the strange, non-existent building makes an appearance and why Arnie doesn’t look like himself. 

Here is another example of a post that has been uploaded that’s suspected to be AI generated:

The woman with the glasses is wearing two watches, and if you zoom in closely on her fingers, there’s definitely something odd going on there. More noticeably, the text in this design doesn’t follow the university’s three standard typefaces (but more on that shortly). 

Then, on February 8th, a non-AI generated version of the UMassD Women Lead post replaced the previous one.

I was unable to obtain screenshots of the comments section, but chatter among students in the halls and classrooms led to asking, “Why is our school using AI to share this information when there is a graphic design department and marketing team of real, hardworking people?” 

Additionally, coming from an officially recognized university account, there are specific guidelines that need to be adhered to when creating marketing materials. According to UMass Dartmouth University Marketing, “[l]ogos serve as the visual identity of our brand, symbolizing the university’s official endorsement. They unify our communications and need to be applied consistently across all media. It is imperative to use only the authentic university logos as provided, ensuring their integrity – do not alter university logos in any way.”

Alongside these guidelines for logo usage, there are certain colors, typefaces, and other aspects that must be used in official university branding. Additionally, individuals are able to submit a request to university marketing for assistance with the following: 

• Design services 
• Marquee
• Signage
• Social media
• Story idea
• Video
• Website support
• Promotional items
• Paid advertising 

It is fair to say that there are plentiful resources in creating content that are seen by students, parents, faculty, and staff.

While generative AI may have the factor of convenience, it does not hold the same ethical or human-essence of graphic design done by real humans. Plus, AI is highly prone to mistakes (just as we saw with the UMass Dartmouth logo and unrecognizable building), which will require additional editing—and this is more challenging to achieve than if the design were created using Canva, Illustrator, or Photoshop.

With 573 students enrolled in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (as of May 2024) who work tirelessly to create their own works, leaving the artistic ability to that of a machine dismisses the hardworking students we have across this campus. Why use generative AI to represent a student body who puts their all into authentic creations? 

Aside from this ethical issue, using generative AI platforms has a harmful impact on the environment as well. I’m not going to delve into it here because I believe the core issue at stake is dismissing the hard work that UMassD students and staff accomplish. 

(If you’re interested in reading about the environmental issues caused by AI data centers, here is an article from the National Education Association.) 

This piece is not a means to make accusations but to raise AI-usage concerns as a UMassD student who hopes our school officials will take measures for accountability and integrity.