UH confirms AI usage at Cougar Woods, students express discontent

UH confirmed that artificial intelligence was used to create portions of new art featured in the revamped Cougar Woods Dining Commons.

UH teamed up with Vision Builders, a design team, that will be in charge of all project graphics. The graphics were approved by UH Branding and UH Planning prior to the winter break.

“AI was used in the initial concept stages as a tool to create and develop portions of 2 of the 4 graphics in Cougar Woods,” said Executive director of axuiliary services Deborah Huebler. “It is important to note that this is not a mural or artwork, but part of a graphics package that is part of the Phase 1 Cougar Woods refresh.”

The use of AI art has sparked a range of reactions from students, with some concerned about the implications for art students and the creative community.

“I believe it is AI,” said biotechnology junior Samira De Leon. “It’s bad, tasteless and lame. It severely undermines art students.”

Students believe that UH, by using AI art, is diminishing opportunities for art students and local artists to show their talents and gain experience.

“This would simply show that education and creativity are not at the forefront of the priorities of UH,” said music education junior Angel Rivera III. “They chose to go the cheap route and neglect the opportunity of hiring an art student or team of art students to put their creative minds together and create an artwork worthy of awe and community.”

Others raised ethical concerns about the use of AI art, particularly regarding copyright and the devaluation of human-made creative work.

“It is created using copyrighted works and is essentially stealing. To me, AI art is extremely unethical and seeing AI being used to promote a business or institution like UH just makes them appear lazy and greedy,” said architecture sophomore Michelle L. “They have the money to hire a real artist or pay for a stock image.”

The use of AI, though controversial, has also been recognized for its benefits. A report by Common Sense Media and HopeLab shows 53% of AI users utilize it for studying while 51% use it for brainstorming. Additionally, 31% of participants ages 14-22 said they use AI to create pictures or images, 16% use it to make music and 15% use it to write code.

Some students acknowledge that AI can be a useful tool when used responsibly but argue that it should not replace human creativity entirely.

“AI is both good and bad,” said communications senior Fisayo Delano. “If used as a productivity tool it’s great, I wouldn’t be surprised if Adobe Illustrations AI system was used on the art, but the artist should have gone back in and cleaned up the areas that have the tell-tale signs of AI.”

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