Some Commencement Speakers Face Audience Pushback Over AI Remarks

Commencement speakers at two universities encountered audible pushback from graduating students when they discussed artificial intelligence. The responses came during addresses at the University of Central Florida and the University of Arizona. At the University of Central Florida, an executive at real estate firm Tavistock Development Company spoke about a period of profound change that can be both exciting and daunting.

She described the rise of artificial intelligence as the next industrial revolution, after which students began booing. The speaker paused and asked what happened before continuing. When she noted that only a few years ago artificial intelligence was not a factor in daily lives, the audience responded with loud cheers and applause.

At the University of Arizona, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also received boos when he told students they will help shape artificial intelligence. Some student groups had called for his removal as speaker before the event due to a lawsuit in which a former girlfriend and business partner accused him of sexual assault.

Schmidt continued speaking over the boos, stating that students can assemble a team of AI agents to help with tasks they could never accomplish on their own.

He added that when someone offers a seat on the rocket ship, one should get on without asking which seat. Not every recent commencement address mentioning artificial intelligence drew similar reactions.

A recent Gallup poll found that only 43 percent of Americans aged 15 to 34 said it is a good time to find a job locally, down from 75 percent in 2022. One student told The New York Times that the booing at the University of Central Florida felt like a collective reaction that the speech was not connecting with the audience.