PLANO, Texas (WFAA) – A Texas school district plans to use artificial intelligence to announce students’ names at all its high school graduations this spring, sparking conflicting reactions among the district’s seniors.
When 18-year-old Avery Cousins and the rest of her classmates graduate from Plano High School in May, it will be a moment to remember – but maybe not how she’d like.
The Plano Independent School District recently announced it will use NameCheck, an AI-powered pronunciation tool, to announce the names at all high school graduations this spring. This will allow students to record and train the system to say their names correctly.
“Names matter, and we want your big moment to feel personal and accurate,” the district wrote in an email to parents.
The district says not only will its decision improve accuracy but create a more seamless experience.
For Cousins, the change is hard to accept.
“It really sunk in how wild this decision was,” she said. “There is such a distinct human factor to having somebody who knows you and contributed to your education say your name while you walk.”
Other students say they support the decision.
“I think it’s very cool how the technology is coming along,” senior Holden Schmidt said.
“I’d rather have my name said correctly at graduation…especially since it’s such a big day for me,” senior Bridgette Cruz said.
Watt Lesley Black Jr., who teaches education policy at Southern Methodist University, says the issue highlights a broader tension. He questions whether the change may spark more backlash than benefit.
“It’s a question of efficiency versus tradition or accuracy versus authenticity,” Black said. “To me…the juice is not worth the squeeze. Graduation ceremonies are one of the most change-resistant and tradition-laden things that we do in education.”
Cousins has taken action, starting a petition to bring back a human announcer. She says support came quickly, but her ultimate hope is to have the majority of the seniors from her school sign.
She says she doesn’t discount the importance of pronouncing names accurately and wishes there was some middle ground where the AI can be used as a tool for the human announcer to verify before calling out the name on stage.
“There is something distinctly valuable about having a human experience, even when it’s imperfect,” she said.
The school district says its decision comes after feedback from past graduations and notes the AI system will also display names on a large screen. The annual cost of the software and service is less than $10,000 for all four graduations, according to the district.
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