By: Kristine Pascual, March 11, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Business Administration has found a way to make research boring, lifeless and disconnected by allowing artificial intelligence to do all the talking.
CBA’s podcast, Pomona Pulse, has released 10 episodes on its YouTube channel since Jan. 21. Described by CPP as “groundbreaking,” the podcast features two AI-generated hosts discussing CBA faculty research on topics like finance, marketing, leadership and technology.
Rather than relying on artificial voices, Pomona Pulse should have given faculty the opportunity to present their own research or encourage CBA students to host. AI should be used to enhance creative work, not replace it entirely. The Pomona Pulse is not CBA’s first instance of using AI to create a form of media. CBA posted a laughable welcome video to its channel last fall. It was entirely made by AI.
By using two AI hosts, CPP put aside the opportunity for students who could have brought the podcast to life with energy and engagement. Similar to CPP’s $4.1 million rebrand, rather than offering this opportunity to students from the visual communication design department the school invested a hefty amount of money into a creative agency. There is an entire department of overlooked students whose careers center around creating logo.
This also makes me wonder if the person who is in charge of Pomona Pulse took the time to read, understand and engage with the professors’ work.
The core of a podcast is to create interaction with their viewers. Podcasts succeed when the host has a personality that keeps listeners engaged. Some of the best parts of a podcast episode is the spontaneity in a sidetracked conversation, something that Pomona Pulse lacks. Yes, there is banter in the episodes, but the hosts are AI, so everything other than the research is fake.
There’s no heart or connection in the Pomona Pulse, but simply words regurgitated by a computer application.
If more departments start to rely on AI, this could pose a serious threat to artistic authenticity and creativity. Students who hear about this podcast may begin to think it is OK to use AI in an academic setting because the CBA did. If we continue the fast track toward AI, then we risk losing the human experience within our work.
The California State University system has recently announced the launch of ChatGPT Edu, a $16.9 million AI technology application geared toward students. The technology will be available at no cost for students at all 23 CSU campuses. Encouraging students to use AI through a provided tool could blur the thin line between help with homework and cheating. As a place of education, it is important to encourage students to learn rather than take shortcuts.
Regenerative studies graduate student Jillian Munoz believes the CBA is improperly using AI. She said the podcast would be far more engaging and beneficial if researchers or CBA students shared their own work rather than relying on AI hosts, which she described as “uncanny.”
“It feels like a cheap way to quickly pump out content that uses a buzz word like AI,” Munoz said. “It doesn’t scream quality or connections with people and community.”
Not only is AI posing as a threat to creatives but also to the climate. Munoz discussed the environmental costs of AI and the underlying dangers of abusing its usage. According to the Yale School of Environment, using AI applications requires a mass amount of energy that comes from fossil fuel emissions, the largest contributor to global warming.
We need to be more mindful of how we utilize AI. While it is obviously beneficial to enhancing our work, we need to approach the technology responsibly. Rather than depending on AI for every homework question, consider the alternatives to reduce your ecological footprint. AI can help get the work done faster but simultaneously puts a strain on the environment.
“Whether we like AI or not, whether we use it as a tool or as a replacement for something else, it makes a huge, negative impact on the environment,” Muñoz said. “It’s really alarming to see how we’re running ahead with this new technology without consideration on the impact it’s making and how much of an energy and resource strain it could be.
Running AI models require large-scale data centers that consume significant amounts of energy. According to an article by NPR, researcher Jesse Dodge computed that asking ChatGPT one question uses the same amount of energy of a lit lightbulb for 20 minutes. With AI’s skyrocketing usage and other technological advancements, the amount of electricity piles up damaging carbon footprint.
Instead of asking ChatGPT a question Muñoz recommends doing what you did before and searching on Google instead. Although AI can be correctly used to enhance one’s work, we should still try to be conscious of our usage and its potential effects on climate.
As the technology industry continues to push boundaries toward advanced applications like AI, we should remember that it will never be able to replicate the human perspective. The future of creativity relies on how AI is integrated into daily tasks and we should reduce our usage, despite the CSU’s initiative.
Feature image by Connor Lālea Hampton
