We, as Students for Justice in Palestine,condemns the 17-million dollar deal the CSU has made with OpenAI. A 17-million-dollar gamble that our institution is funneling to tech giant corporation, OpenAI. This is highly controversial considering the 2.3 billion dollar budget gap the CSU is currently in. Not only are there economic implications, there are human lives and rights at stake. As of March 2024, OpenAI changed its policy on the usage of its technology in warfare and other military purposes. AI is now used and endorsed by the military, and OpenAI recently made a deal with the Pentagon to increase the use of its technology within the United States military. Additionally, this deal with OpenAI signals a concerning shift in our institution, away from human intelligence, and into a world that relies heavily upon the imprecise algorithms and misinformation that current AI models provide.

According to AP news AI has been used by the Israeli military to systematically murder the Palestinian population by targeting and surveilling Palestinians via algorithmic facial mapping, lending itself to AI based warfare.

As we are aware of the adverse implications this deal has on our community, education, environment and on the people of Palestine, we strongly oppose this deal and ask the CSU to reconsider the 18-month contract and to cease business with a company that is violating human rights across the world.

Additionally, AI surveillance has been used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to surveille migrants, and migrant populations within our own communities, despite the CSU’s promises to aid in reducing ICE on our campuses.

Additionally, it is a conflict of interest for the CSU to invest in Open AI because of the emphasis on sustainability, and environmental consciousness that the CSU has centered with sustainability initiatives. Investing in AI contradicts that narrative because AI computers use massive amounts of fresh water to cool off the computers, and releases high amounts of methane gas in the air to power computer systems. AI systems' environmental implications also contribute to environmental racism,due to tech companies creating high amounts of air pollution in low-income, marginalized, and/or Black and Brown neighborhoods. AI has also forced their environmental determinants onto communities in Mexico, for example in Querétaro worsening an already drought prone area, depriving the local community of viable drinking water to power an Open AI farm.

Open AI, and ChatGPT are currently being sued for the coaching of 16 year old Matthew Raine in taking his own life, by instructing him on how to commit suicide, and to not to tell his mother about his ideations. By implementing OpenAI across the CSU, we are encouraging the usage of AI to fill the crucial role of counselors which are desperately needed on campus.The misuse of AI to fulfill the roles of professionals in their fields of mental health is only growing.CSU’s OpenAI deal directly contributes to this issue further showing that this deal is not prioritizing students mental, and physical health.

Another adverse impact of Open AI is the AI takeover in the job market by pushing out the working class and replacing human workers with automated ones. According to a 2025 report by the Mckinsey Global Institute by 2030 30% of our jobs could be automated or AI operated.

That is why we aim to organize a coalition of students who condemn the CSU partnership with Open AI. We find solidarity in the fact that Open AI harms all of us by aiding the Israeli military in continuing the genocide in Palestine, increasing surveillance of immigrant populations, taking working class peoples jobs, contributing to social isolation and mental health issues, harming our environment, and our communities. A deal with OPEN AI is in direct opposition to the CSU mission of equity, empowerment, and the CSU’s commitment to aiding students in developing their critical thinking in a time when much of their beliefs, ethics, and morals are challenged. .

Join us in the movement to end the Open AI deal, and advocate for human rights, so that we continue to have a people powered institution and not an AI powered one. We demand that the CSU invest in concrete student and community initiatives, and not in hypocritical AI deals that contribute to the genocide in Palestine, fascism in the United States, and environmental destruction.

How US tech giants' AI is changing the face of warfare in Gaza and Lebanon | AP News

Generative AI and the future of work in America | McKinsey