Graduation is cause for celebration. At Glendale Community College, an AI-related flub made it cause for apology.
The college’s recent graduation ceremony outside of Phoenix, Arizona ground to a halt after a naming mishap. Several students’ names weren’t called as they crossed the stage. Others were left waiting after failing to hear their name at all. Thus began a 10-minute commencement debacle, with AI to blame.
They later found an old-school solution: human name-callers.
The first sign that something was amiss began when Lorelei Konopka, the college’s vice president of academic affairs, asked the audience to “give us one second.”
The college’s president, Tiffany Hernandez, then approached the lectern to reveal the cause of the error: “We’re using a new AI system as our reader. That’s a lesson learned for us.”
The audience booed at the mention of AI. It’s something that’s been happening at a handful of commencements — though most were because of references during speeches, not because of an AI-related ceremony error.
Hernandez initially said that she would have to “disappoint many of you” by not letting them walk a second time with their names read aloud.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “There’s plenty of opportunities, I hope, to take some really good pictures, and to celebrate you with your loved ones as well.”
Konopka approached the lectern to continue the ceremony, joking, “I have the part of the ceremony that doesn’t require AI.”
After a series of long pauses, Hernandez announced that the students would be able to walk again — and this time, a human would announce their names.
“Here’s where pivoting works best,” she said.
In an email to Business Insider, a Glendale Community College representative wrote that there was a “technical issue” leading to some graduates not being named.
“While the issue was corrected during the ceremony, we are sorry for the disruption it caused during what should have been a celebratory moment for our graduates and their families,” the representative wrote. “We have also communicated directly with graduates to apologize for the experience.”
Graduate Grace Reimer told AZ Family that she noticed the error when she didn’t hear much cheering during her walk. “My family is a pretty loud family,” she said.
Reimer also posted a screenshot of a letter from the Glendale Community College president on TikTok. Hernandez wrote in the letter that they were “actively reviewing” the issue, though there was no reference to AI.
AI remains a contentious topic this graduation season. During former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s commencement address at the University of Arizona, students booed references to AI and automation.
Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed at one of the University of Central Florida’s commencement ceremonies. So was Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta at Middle Tennessee State University.
Borchetta’s response: “Then do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you.”
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