{"id":10457,"date":"2022-03-03T21:55:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T21:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1381835"},"modified":"2022-03-03T21:55:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T21:55:37","slug":"this-ai-college-president-is-another-reason-to-drop-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=10457","title":{"rendered":"This AI college president is another reason to drop out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s tough being a college student in the US these days. The stresses of studying, pandemic rules, exorbitant fees, and douchebags with guitars can make for trying times. But don\u2019t worry, fellow kidz: <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/topic\/artificial-intelligence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AI<\/a> has arrived to alleviate your worries.<\/p>\n<p>Meet the new digital university president:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1381845 js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26.png\" alt=\"Digital President Whitfield\" width=\"1598\" height=\"1332\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1598px) 100vw, 1598px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26.png 1598w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-252x210.png 252w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-162x135.png 162w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-324x270.png 324w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-1536x1280.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-796x663.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-1592x1327.png 1592w\"><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/ai-college-president-is-another-reason-to-drop-out-unlv-keith-whitfield#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fneural%2F2022%2F03%2F03%2Fai-college-president-is-another-reason-to-drop-out-unlv-keith-whitfield%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Image: UNLV\" data-title=\"Share Image: UNLV on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Image: UNLV on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"><\/i><\/a>Image: UNLV<\/figcaption><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1381845\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26.png\" alt=\"Digital President Whitfield\" width=\"1598\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26.png 1598w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-252x210.png 252w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-162x135.png 162w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-324x270.png 324w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-1536x1280.png 1536w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-796x663.png 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2022\/03\/Screenshot-2022-03-03-at-19.13.26-1592x1327.png 1592w\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p>The system is a digital twin of Keith Whitfield, the human president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had this kind of grandiose desire to talk to every single student, and I think I said that and the whole room just got quiet and said, \u2018he\u2019s lost his mind\u2019,\u201d Whitfield <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktnv.com\/news\/unlv-president-goes-virtual-with-a-i-tool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">told 13 Action News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The president presumably brushed aside their concerns \u2014 and sought an AI doppelganger.<\/p>\n<h2>Learning on the job<\/h2>\n<p>After recruiting the services of the AI Media Lab for a bargain<span> $125,000<\/span>, Whitfield headed to the studio.<\/p>\n<p>He spent around eight hours reading information about UNLV, reciting questions for students, and talking about himself.<\/p>\n<p>AI Media Lab used the recordings and 3D images of Whitfield to create his avatar. The virtual mentor was then unleashed on the lucky UNLV students.<\/p>\n<p>To seek his guidance, all they need to do is turn on their microphone and agree to two <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/topic\/privacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">privacy<\/a> policies, along with just terms of service.<\/p>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t foresee any risks, so I immediately loaded him up.<\/p>\n<p>Seconds later, the digital prez appeared on my laptop screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy goal is to help you through your experience at UNLV by answering questions, directing you to resources, and helping you with whatever you might be going through,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<h2>Programming education<\/h2>\n<div class=\"css-1jxivh7\" readability=\"9.5\">\n<div class=\"css-1jxivh7\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><span>Virtual Whitfield tried to accommodate my every need. He revealed his favorite spot on campus, gave me tips on studying dystopian tech, and was amiable to requests for drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I was, however, unnerved by his advice on finding love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-qxtf0z\">\n<div class=\"css-qa1qys\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"css-1jxivh7\" readability=\"22.5\">\n<div class=\"css-1jxivh7\" readability=\"8\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-body1 css-1k7ey4s css-9l3uo3\">\u201cI am not currently married,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Perhaps I shouldn\u2019t be too critical. The UX is pretty smooth and the AI did recommend resources for mental health, financial aid, and career advice \u2014 although a simple search function could have provided that more swiftly.<\/p>\n<p>I suppose it\u2019s more personable than a chatbot, but if I wanted the advice of a digital twin, I wouldn\u2019t pick my college president. I\u2019d much rather bare my soul to a hot AI therapist.<\/p>\n<p>If those weren\u2019t options, that $125,000 may have been better spent on real support services \u2014 rather than an avatar that merely talks about them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>HT: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hypervisible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Chris Gilliard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/ai-college-president-is-another-reason-to-drop-out-unlv-keith-whitfield\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s tough being a college student in the US these days. The stresses of studying, pandemic rules, exorbitant fees, and douchebags with guitars can make for trying times. But don\u2019t worry, fellow&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}