Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

Graduates at multiple U.S. universities interrupted commencement speakers with boos when they addressed artificial intelligence, signaling growing student frustration over the technology’s perceived threat to future careers. At the University of Arizona, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced repeated boos during his keynote to 10,000 graduates after warning that AI would transform every profession. He acknowledged the audience’s fear but urged them to embrace the change, saying, ‘The future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating.’ Olivia Malone, a 22-year-old law school-bound graduate, criticized Schmidt’s speech as tone-deaf, noting students are discouraged from using AI in academic settings while executives promote it. Similar reactions occurred at other universities. At the University of Central Florida, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed when she called AI the ‘next industrial revolution,’ though she later received cheers for acknowledging its rapid rise. Meanwhile, music executive Scott Borchetta faced boos at Middle Tennessee State University after stating AI is reshaping the music industry, telling graduates to ‘deal with it.’ Polls reinforce the anxiety: A 2025 Harvard Institute of Politics survey found 70% of college students view AI as a threat to their careers, while a Gallup poll showed half of Gen Z users—despite frequent engagement with AI—now express anger toward the technology, with declining excitement over its potential. Speakers attempted to reframe AI as a tool rather than a threat. Schmidt and Borchetta urged graduates to adapt, positioning AI as something to be harnessed rather than feared. However, students like Malone dismissed such messages as self-serving, with Schmidt’s speech likened to a ‘longest Gemini ad ever,’ given his ties to Google’s AI advancements. The backlash highlights a generational divide: while executives and institutions emphasize AI’s opportunities, students grapple with uncertainty over its real-world impact on education and employment.