ChatGPT’s use in condolence email after Michigan State University shooting angers students

Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College used the chatbot to write a message about the importance of community following the campus shooting in Michigan

‘It’s almost as if Vanderbilt sent the email merely out of obligation, rather than a genuine care for the needs of its community,’ a student says

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Mourners hold a candlelight vigil for the students killed in the Michigan State University shooting. Photo: AP

Published: 12:23pm, 18 Feb 2023Updated: 12:43pm, 18 Feb 2023

Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College was blasted in an article by the school newspaper after administrators used ChatGPT to write a message about the importance of community after a deadly campus shooting in Michigan.

The Nashville, Tennessee-based school’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion said in a February 16 email that “creating a safe and inclusive environment is an ongoing process that requires ongoing effort and commitment.”

A line at the bottom of the five-paragraph email said it had been paraphrased using ChatGPT, an AI text generator.

The email was sent in response to a school shooting earlier this week. A gunman killed three people and injured five others at Michigan State University’s campus in East Lansing on Monday night.

The suspect was later found dead after apparently taking his own life. There have been 73 mass shootings in the US this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.