NEWS
BY Rachel daly · 2 November 2026
The University College Cork Students’ Union (UCCSU) has faced criticism following allegations that artificial intelligence has been used to produce digital graphics published across its social media accounts.
The growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted criticism over its environmental costs, its implications for intellectual property rights, and its impact on creative workers, including graphic designers and digital artists. The data centres required to operate AI systems consume substantial quantities of electricity and water, including for the cooling of machinery. Meanwhile, the development of generative AI models has attracted criticism over the use of artists’ and designers’ work in training AI systems, often without their consent or compensation.
Across University College Cork, various approaches have been taken towards the use of AI. While individual departments may have differing policies governing its use, the University has published a Toolkit for the Ethical Use of Generative AI, and its Academic Integrity Booklet has been updated to include references to the use of GenAI.
Students have raised concerns over the perceived use of AI by UCCSU, voicing their criticisms publicly through online forums and social media platforms, including the UCC subreddit on Reddit and the UCC Confessions Instagram page. Some students have also indicated that they contacted the Students’ Union directly by email. However, the exact number of students who formally raised the issue with UCCSU remains unclear.
On 29 October, during a series of sit-down interviews with UCCSU sabbatical officers, University Express raised questions concerning the Students’ Union’s perceived use of AI. The issue formed one part of wider discussions with the three officers who took part in the interviews.
When questioned about the allegations, officers acknowledged that AI-generated elements had appeared in Students’ Union graphics published across its social media accounts, while maintaining that their inclusion had been unintentional.
“There was never an intention to use AI, or an intent to break the mandate that we have within our policy booklet,” said UCCSU President Eleanor McCahill in Thursday’s interview with University Express. “We have become increasingly aware that there are different background features behind the graphics that we are using, built into Canva.” McCahill then stated “there was never an attempt to break the mandate that we have within our active policy booklet, um, the council and the UCC students gave us” — it unclear as to which “booklet” the UCCSU is referring to, as University Express could not source or view such a booklet online or otherwise over the course of preparing to write this article.
Entertainment Officer Makhabbat Shaimakhanova offered a similar explanation, suggesting that it could be difficult to distinguish between AI-generated and human-created elements within Canva — “it’s hard to know”. Explaining the Union’s approach to producing posters, the officer said that they “pick the template, [they] just change the text” and use whichever images or elements Canva provides.
When asked about allegations, Communications and Engagement Officer Luna Fleming said they had conducted “investigations” into the matter. Fleming said they had “kind of looked through [UCCSU’s] Canva” and, regarding graphics “alleged to be AI”, could “kind of see how they went from the template to the end [product]”. Fleming attributed the issue to the fact that “some of the templates in and of themselves contain AI”.
The Students’ Union maintains that the use of AI was unintentional, raising questions about how its use can be prevented in the future if it is not the Union’s intention to utilise the technology. When asked how UCCSU intended to address the issue going forward, McCahill stated that “one of [their] officers actually highlighted that there’s an option for the admin of our Canva to turn off the use of AI features”, an option the UCCSU President said “[they] as a team didn’t actually know about” until that point. McCahill identified enabling this setting as an “action point” for the Students’ Union going forward, provided that the option was available to them.
The Entertainment Officer, meanwhile, opted to describe the time officers dedicate to producing and reviewing graphics, stating that “we still spend, like, an hour or two or three sometimes making sure that it looks up to standard”.
Fleming expressed a similar sentiment to McCahill, saying that they “believe[d] [their] president has found a solution in that someone suggested to them there was a way to turn off all AI features on Canva just so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Addressing the oversight of the Union’s graphics going forward, Fleming said that UCCSU was encouraging a more centralised approach. “We are trying to encourage where possible that I would be the person making the post,” Fleming said, explaining that difficulties had arisen when other officers were required to produce graphics at the “last minute”. They added that, when producing the graphics themselves, they could dedicate the necessary time to ensuring graphics were “accurate and clear, easy to read”.
However, it remains unclear from the accounts provided by McCahill and Fleming whether disabling Canva’s AI features is a measure the Students’ Union intends to pursue or whether it has already been implemented. The Union appears to intend to continue using Canva, with McCahill describing the platform as “a very creative place” and expressing the intention to use it to its “fullest […] intent and ability without using AI”. The Entertainment Officer similarly described Canva as “a great website”, noting that it “has all the tools and things” to make the posters.
Owing to the increasingly integrated nature of AI within Canva and other graphic design platforms, it may prove difficult for the Union to fully deliver on its intention to avoid AI-generated elements in its graphics going forward.
While the use of AI remains contentious, particularly in light of the concerns outlined earlier in this article, ensuring that UCCSU’s graphics remain free from AI-generated elements will require more than an intention to avoid the technology. It will require clear oversight, effective communication between officers, consistent adherence to Union policy and a shared understanding of the standards expected in the production and publication of its communications across platforms.
