Concordia’s AI note-taker draws faculty and student concern

Faculty and students say the university moved ahead with AI service Genio despite their concerns

NewsMatthew Daldalian — Published November 18, 2025 5 minutes

A Concordia University student’s request for a human note-taker this fall semester has raised wider questions about privacy, academic freedom and university governance.

Third-year sociology honours student Gabrielle Place said she contacted the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities (ACSD) in August to ask for note-taking support. Instead of being assigned a student note-taker, she was told via email from the ACSD that the university would offer Genio, an AI-based service, if it “is something you think can work for you.” 

While Place said she initially agreed to let ACSD contact her instructors for consent, every single one of them declined. The ACSD then informed her she could try negotiating directly with her instructors, but she chose not to.

“I didn’t want to create conflict between me and the professors,” Place said.

Place added that being pushed toward a software she viewed as “an unreasonable accommodation” felt out of step with a university already cutting resources elsewhere.

“I was basically told that they switched [from human note-taking] to using Genio,” Place said.

Concordia spokesperson Julie Fortier wrote in an email to The Link that the university “did not shift from human notetakers to Genio.”

“There is no plan to replace human notetakers and transcribers by AI software,” Fortier said. 

Shortly after a meeting with her ACSD advisor on Sept. 22, Place was eventually granted a human note-taker.

Genio Notes lets students record classes and generate transcripts and AI-produced outlines.

Among those following Genio’s attempted integration into Concordia is Christopher Hurl, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and one of Place’s instructors. 

Hurl said his worries about the software surfaced well before this fall semester. Discussions surrounding Genio, he said, appeared repeatedly at the university’s Senate meetings and within the Concordia University Faculty Association (CUFA) and Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA). 

“My aim in the classroom is to establish an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts,” Hurl said in an email to The Link. “I’m not convinced that their privacy will be protected with the new software.”

Hurl said he’s uneasy about how the company might handle professors’ intellectual property and whether their lectures could end up training large language models.

According to Fortier, Genio is approved strictly as a note-taking aid rather than a live transcription tool. She noted that students must sign an agreement promising to stop recording when their peers are speaking.

Gowrish Subramaniam, a second-year political science student who is legally blind, said he’s often experienced instructors bristle at the idea of being recorded. He described many professors as being “very conservative” about protecting their lectures and slides.

Place said part of her objection is that AI might not replace the judgment a seasoned note-taker brings to the table.

Marie Gravran, communications officer for the Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Postsecondary Education, said the association has heard “a lot” about there being note-taker shortages.

“It can take time. Sometimes, a student won’t get a note-taker until later in the session,” Gravran said.

At the same time, Gravran said technology must not be imposed against students’ objections. 

“We don’t want that to be a one-size-fits-all solution,” Gravran said. 

There are currently 72 student employees providing accessibility services through the ACSD, according to Fortier, most working as note-takers or transcribers. 

Fortier added that the centre “assesses on a continuous basis the various tools and supports it offers, including Genio, to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community.”

Student representatives say many of the same issues were debated at Concordia’s Senate meetings last winter and this fall.

“A question that we think is pretty pertinent is, how much did this cost to implement, especially in the time of austerity that Concordia has,” said Adam Semergian, academic coordinator for ASFA.

ASFA currently has no official stance on AI accommodations. 

Semergian recalled that students and faculty had raised concerns about the software at Senate last year, and that many were surprised to learn it had been implemented over the summer despite those objections.

“My aim in the classroom is to establish an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. [...] I’m not convinced that their privacy will be protected with the new software.” — Christopher Hurl, professor

Anna Sheftel, principal of the School of Community and Public Affairs, described a “super contested” Senate meeting in early 2025, where faculty and students raised questions about recording classes for ASCD services. 

“I cannot violate that student's privacy and tell everybody they're being recorded,” Sheftel said. “You can't really count on someone [to stop recording]. That's a pretty unreasonable burden to put on the student.”

Sheftel said she believes classroom realities won’t always be compatible with the use of Genio. She explained that, contrary to a typical lecture, most of her courses are built around open discussion, which can make audio-based tools difficult to manage.

“It’s a misunderstanding of how classrooms work,” Sheftel said.

Sheftel added that she would be more comfortable recording classes herself, as it would allow her to pause recordings more easily if a student wanted to share something personal or sensitive. 

Isabella Providenti, an undergraduate student who also serves as academic and advocacy coordinator for the Concordia Student Union, said she believes the university’s adoption of AI tools has unfolded with limited clarity.

Providenti described the broader policy environment as “a bit of a black box.” She noted that students can’t easily see how decisions about AI are made, what data agreements look like, or how these tools fit into Concordia’s wider cost-cutting measures

“On one hand, they’re being told in classes that they can’t use AI for schoolwork, and then on the other, it’s like they’re being given explicitly these tools that are using generative text,” Providenti said.

Place plans to keep her human note-taking support.

“At times like the widespread austerity measures,” Place said, “students and professors need to be working together.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 6, published November 18, 2025.