If you were walking to the library for some last-minute studying or grabbing snacks from the Arbor a few weeks ago, you may have noticed a giant Google Gemini pop-up exhibit on the grass next to the walkway (pictured above). Now, while there are always students tabling, harassing innocent passersby, this sleek, professional, businesslike event specifically caught my eye, as I’m sure it did yours.
Despite being sent over there to take some mandatory photos of the event (I work in the UCSB ITS department), I was incredibly curious about what this whole thing entailed. Because of my job, I had a bit of previous knowledge of the Google Gemini rollout to students, but was unaware it would be accompanied by a corporate-like “Gemini Lounge” with a lengthy queue of students trailing behind it. From free tote bags to other Google-branded merch, I couldn’t help but wonder what the point of this was.
With advertisements carrying the slogan: “Look What You Can Do,” (???) I personally found the booth incredibly ironic, raising questions about the hypocrisy of UCSB’s Google Gemini deal, eventually leading me to conduct some interviews, perform further research, and write this article.
What’s The deal?
I found out this pop-up on our campus was part of Google’s national college tour. From San Diego State to Florida State University, this tour really did span across the whole country, celebrating their university agreements and introducing students to the concept of Google Gemini.
Some of the activities that took place inside the lounge included workshops on how to utilize Gemini to its full potential, product demos alongisde NotebookLM, and even featuring students on their social media.
UCSB’s endorsement of Google Gemini stems the UC-wide deal that every University of California is apart of —something that I don’t think everyone is aware of, which is why I decided to gather some comments from professors and students alike.
How Do professors Feel?
Dr. Afifi, a professor in the Department of Communication and Associate Dean, had some strong opinions on the matter. Regarding broader AI usage as a whole, Afifi without a doubt acknowledged that it is “ethically questionable,” is “damaging communities,” and has a multitude of other effects on society that are approaching in the near future.
However, he admitted that if students were going to be using an AI platform in the first place, which I agree that they are, it’s better to use it in an agreement with the university to “protect our data.”
Well, How is our data being protected?
Following Afifi’s comment, I did some research about how our data is actually being protected by using Google Gemini as opposed to other AI platforms, and this is what I found (straight from Gemini, of course):
- No AI Model Training: Prompts, uploaded files, and chat histories are never used to train Google’s public AI models.
- No Human Review: Google is contractually prohibited from allowing human reviewers to read, view, or analyze your interactions or chats.
- Data Leak Guardrails: The system uses strict access controls so data cannot leak across user boundaries or to other individuals within the university.Â
Granted, this is comforting to know. Our data isn’t being sold, reviewed, or used to train public AI models. We won’t all of a sudden get an influx of advertisements for Hokas after we searched “best running shoes” (which has happened to me too many times to count).
But What do students think?
However, even with the enhanced data protection of Google Gemini, the student perspective still begs the question: “How can our school provide us with an AI tool while professors have strict no-AI policies? Isn’t that a little hypocritical?”
Third-year biospychology major Camila Abramowitz shared her opinion: “I think it’s ironic that a school that has such strict artificial intelligence policies actively promoted and campaigned for Gemini at our school.”
Third-year biology major Natalie Kim agrees with Camila, and while she admits it can be used as a “resource” for students at times, it’s mostly leading to “brainrot” as students offload their work to Gemini to do for them.
Most importantly, what do i think?
After hearing from professors and students, I think that this issue is without a doubt multidimensional, containing different variables that all impact the matter. In an age of increasing AI usage, it’s true that students are going to use it no matter what. If we can choose a university-licensed tool that protects our data, I agree that this could be a good decision for students.
While I wish I could snap my fingers and have AI disappear, that’s simply not the case. It’s going to be ingrained in our society from now on and into the future, and the cliche that we hear everywhere holds true: AI won’t replace you, but someone who knows how to use it will. In an era of unprecedented change, you can’t just bury your head under the sand. You have to learn, adapt, and grow.
In my own personal experience, I’ve recently saved hours with Gemini. I’ve summarized 20-page-long papers I was supposed to read, created study guides and flashcards to help me get a 90% on my last quiz, and have used it to refine some of my writing to make something “more professional” or “check for grammar,” etc.
But would I have done this if this tool wasn’t at my fingertips? Would I have used my brain more if Gemini cost $20 a month, instead of being completely free? Would I have known about this resource if there wasn’t a giant dystopian pop-up event on our campus the other week?
I think that this discussion of Google Gemini is definitely part of a broader conversation surrounding the usage of AI at the university level. It’s true that we are adults. We can choose what tools and resources to use or not to use, and it’s our job to prioritize our own learning and not offload our education to a machine. However, the question lies in how much harder that decision is on students when the tool is handed to us on a silver platter.