You’ve worked hard. You’ve survived four years of overpriced textbooks, group projects with invisible teammates, and lectures that often felt more like indoctrination sessions than education. And finally, finally, you’re ready to walk across that stage and hear your name called. It’s a moment you’ve earned.
But at several Georgia universities, that defining moment might now be delivered by… a robot.
Yes, you heard that right. Schools like the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State have quietly handed over the microphone to artificial intelligence. A voice trained by software will now read your name, because apparently a real human being was just a bit too much effort. Congratulations, graduate—you’ve been automated.
The company behind this brave new commencement world is called “Tassel,” and they’ve built a database of over 100,000 names to feed into their AI announcer. Their pitch? It’s more “consistent,” less prone to mistakes, and, let’s be honest, cheaper than paying someone to actually show up and speak.
Now here’s where it gets rich.
The same universities pushing AI as a practical, polished solution for their own ceremonies are the very same ones cracking down on students for daring to use AI tools in their studies. At the University of North Georgia, one student was put on probation simply for running her paper through grammar software. Grammar software! Not ChatGPT ghostwriting a thesis, just spelling and punctuation.
Let’s make sure we’ve got this straight: The school can use AI to celebrate your success, but if you so much as use it to double-check your commas, you’re accused of academic dishonesty. That’s not just hypocrisy, it’s institutional gaslighting.
Some students aren’t buying it. A petition against the use of AI voices at UNG’s graduation racked up over 1,800 signatures, with students rightly pointing out that this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, not an assembly line. And having your name read by an algorithm doesn’t exactly scream “personal” or “celebratory.”
But of course, the school insists this is all about inclusion and accessibility and “enhancing the experience.” That’s the kind of language bureaucrats use when they’ve already made the decision and just need you to stop asking questions.
Let’s talk about the bigger issue here: Artificial intelligence isn’t going away. It’s not a fad. It’s not optional. It’s the future, whether the ivory towers like it or not. If our schools were serious about preparing students for the real world, the world of business, innovation, and global competition, they’d be teaching young Americans how to harness AI, not punish them for it.
Instead, many universities are still stuck in the past, clinging to outdated rules while cherry-picking which tech they’ll allow based on what makes their own lives easier. It’s a classic case of “Do as we say, not as we do.”
What this moment exposes is a deeper rot in academia: a refusal to adapt, paired with a hunger to control. Universities are happy to use AI when it’s convenient for them, but heaven forbid students get creative with the same tools. That kind of initiative might make them less dependent on the system, and we can’t have that.
The truth is, if America wants to stay competitive, our education system needs to stop treating AI like some forbidden fruit. It’s a tool, not a threat. And like any tool, it can be used wisely or poorly. But one thing’s for sure: punishing students for using it while relying on it behind the scenes isn’t just bad policy, it’s insulting.
So if the voice calling your name at graduation sounds a little too perfect, a little too polished, maybe that’s because it’s not really for you. It’s for the university. And that tells you everything you need to know about where their priorities really are.
