Mention of AI in reminder emails is generated by email systems

Some people have reported seeing a message about AI in their reminder emails, so we wanted to clarify that that is coming from withing email systems and is not related to the study. Below is an example of the message:

We do certainly appreciate that this could cause concern for people though, given all the current uncertainty and issues relating to AI. 

The message is automatically generated by some email systems, as they scan email contents for safety e.g., deciding whether or not to load images or links depending on whether the sender is considered safe by the email system. The email system also tries to enhance readability and usability for the reader, so they sometimes turn images into a text-based description as this is useful for people who are using screen readers or assistance software. All of this is automated and coming from the email systems, not from us.

The specific AI message only relates to a description of the VUW logo that is inserted into the reminder emails. The generated text in the email reads “white text on a green background” and then it says that “AI generated descriptions might be inaccurate”. This means that the email system is trying to discern what the picture/logo is and then translate this into text to try and make sure it is accessible and safe for the receiver.

We have never, and will never, use AI in our research. We have now altered the VUW logo picture so that the text description will not mention AI. Please note though, that as the emails all get triggered from the completion of the Wave 2 Health and Wellbeing survey, your emails might retain this message, and the change might only apply to people who have not yet started Wave 2 – that’s just one of those slightly annoying computer system things that we can’t get around, unfortunately.

Here is a picture of what the email reminder would look like if the picture loaded, instead of being turned into the AI-generated text description:

Thanks to everyone who contacted us about this and alerted us to the issue. As always, we are so thankful to all of our participants and are happy to answer questions about the study at any time.