CNN Host Addresses Bard College Graduates on Artificial Intelligence

CNN host Fareed Zakaria delivered the commencement address at Bard College in New York and urged graduates to focus on traits that distinguish human intelligence from artificial intelligence. Zakaria said artificial intelligence is advancing with astonishing speed and power.

He stated that the common question of what tasks will remain for humans may be the wrong one. '" Zakaria said.

Zakaria opened the speech with a trigger warning about the letters AI. The mention drew jeers from graduates, after which he invited them to finish the booing. He then shifted attention to human intelligence, noting that the brain weighs about three pounds and operates on roughly 20 watts of power.

Zakaria said AI systems can require data centers that consume enough electricity to power entire cities. He argued that human intelligence is more efficient and better suited to reading emotions, understanding context, forming relationships, making art, and finding meaning.

"A machine can write a sad poem, but it cannot weep at a funeral," Zakaria said.