Students boo Eric Schmidt and other speakers over AI mentions at graduation ceremonies

If you're giving a commencement speech in 2026, maybe don't mention AI

Commencement season has come around again -- and this year, at least a couple speakers have discovered that it's tough to get graduating students excited about a future shaped by artificial intelligence. Last week, Gloria Caulfield, an executive at real estate firm Tavistock Development Company, gave a speech at the University of Central Florida acknowledging that we're living in a time of "profound change," which can be both "exciting" and "daunting." "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," Caulfield declared -- prompting the students in the audience to begin booing, getting louder and louder until Caulfield chuckled, turned to the other speakers, and asked, "What happened?" "Okay, I struck a chord," she said. Caulfield then tried to resume her speech, saying, "Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives" -- only to be interrupted again by the audience, this time by their loud cheers and applause. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced a similar response when he brought up AI at a University of Arizona speech on Friday. In Schmidt's case, the pushback actually began before the speech itself, with some student groups calling for him to be removed as commencement speaker due to a lawsuit in which a former girlfriend and business partner accused Schmidt of sexual assault. (He has denied the allegations.) According to a local news report, the booing began even before Schmidt took the stage. But Schmidt also got loud boos when he told students, "You will help shape artificial intelligence." The booing was persistent enough that Schmidt tried to speak over it, insisting, "You can now assemble a team of AI agents to help you with the parts that you could never accomplish on your own. When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat, you just get on." To be clear, AI isn't becoming the third rail at every graduation ceremony. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently spoke at Carnegie Mellon's commencement, and he didn't seem to get any audible pushback when he said that AI has "reinvented computing." Still, it's not exactly surprising to find some students in a booing mood. In a recent Gallup poll, only 43% of Americans aged 15 to 34 said it's a good time to find a job locally, a steep drop from 75% in 2022. That pessimism isn't just a response to the rise of AI (a shift that even tech industry workers are worried about), but journalist and tech industry critic Brian Merchant suggested that for many students, AI has become "the cruel new face of hyper-scaling capitalism." "I too would loudly boo at the prospect of this next industrial revolution if I was in my early twenties, unemployed, and had aspirations for my future greater than entering prompts into an LLM," Merchant wrote. Even when the speeches didn't mention AI explicitly, "resilience" was a recurring theme this year. Schmidt himself acknowledged that there is "a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create." Caulfield, meanwhile, might also have misread her audience of arts and humanities graduates. One student said that before mentioning AI, Caulfield already started to lose them with her "generic" praise of corporate executives like Jeff Bezos. Another graduate, Alexander Rose Tyson, told The New York Times, "It wasn't one person that really started the booing. It was just sort of like a collective, 'This sucks.'"

University of Arizona students boo Eric Schmidt's AI cheerleading during commencement

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered the commencement address at the University of Arizona on Friday. And, as his speech veered into talk of AI, he was repeatedly drowned out by boos. AI is already a contentious topic, and it's not surprising that those about to enter a ravaged job market feel particularly negative about it. Schmidt acknowledged the anxiety, according to Business Insider, saying fears "that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create," were "rational." But Schmidt's frustration was also palpable, as he squirmed behind the podium and asked the crowd to let him make his point. Some grads also booed Schmidt over sexual assault allegations made against him last year. Eventually, he told graduates, "When someone offers you a seat on the rocketship, you do not ask which seat, you just get on." Such comments are hardly surprising from someone who just last year called AI "underhyped." But it's also just another example of Silicon Valley's inability to read the room. Gloria Caulfield didn't get the memo, either. Public opinion has turned increasingly against AI, but companies keep cramming it into every part of our lives, whether we want it or not.

College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos -- 'deal with it' one speaker fires back as students heckle positive pitches for AI's role

Arizona students reject ex-Google exec's positive words on AI Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt received a cold reception during a commencement address at the University of Arizona when he touched upon the thorny subject of Artificial Intelligence. The ex-Google exec was one of several commencement speakers across the United States this weekend (h/t NBC News) who were booed for their positive comments about AI, a technology that is having a vast and immediate impact on the job market that these graduates are soon to enter. Schmidt, who served in various capacities as CEO, Chairman, and technical advisor to Google and its parent company Alphabet across several decades, found a mostly hostile reception to the themes within his keynote speech in Arizona. He talked about the impact of technology over the years on young people to the thousands of assembled students, with his fairly positive spin on AI proving to be a point of contention for the audience. Schmidt told the students that "we thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated." Schmidt's speech, which also mentioned how "the same tools that connect us also isolate us," suggesting that they had "degraded the public square," generally failed to enthuse the audience. Some of the loudest hostile voices were reserved for Schmidt's comments on AI, however. "You can now assemble a team of AI agents to help you with the parts you could never accomplish on your own," comparing it to a "seat on a rocket ship." He also suggested that the students will be the ones to "shape artificial intelligence," even if they "don't care about science... because AI is gonna touch everything else as well." At one point, the former Google executive was forced to stop as the shouting intensified. "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear," going on to speak about the concerns within the next generation that their "future has already been written," calling those fears "rational." Schmidt's message, however, doesn't deviate: AI "will shape the world," and it'll be up to them to guide it along the way. Schmidt's get-on-board messaging clearly didn't resonate with the audience at the University of Arizona. Other speakers, including Gloria Caulfield, a VP for a major property development company, suggested that AI was "the next industrial revolution" during her speech at the University of Central Florida, and was promptly jeered. Meanwhile, music executive Scott Borchetta at Middle Tennessee State University suggested AI was "rewriting production as we sit here" and told his audience to "deal with it" as they jeered him in response. Meanwhile, Google is just one of several influential technology firms involved in the development of AI, spending billions on its development. Nobody quite knows what the future has in store for an AI-dominated world, but an exec at tech rival Microsoft believes AI will replace every white-collar job within the next 12 to 18 months, despite a wider survey of U.S. business executives from earlier in the year reporting little productivity gains from its use so far. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed by graduates at mention of AI

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by students as he spoke about the rise of artificial intelligence during his speech at University of Arizona's graduation ceremony, underscoring growing anxiety over AI's impact on jobs. "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you," Schmidt told graduates as jeers rang out at the venue during remarks comparing today's AI boom to the rise of computers four decades ago. The reaction reflects a broader unease on campuses, where speakers who mention AI are increasingly being met with hostility from students. A recent poll suggests many students view AI as both a threat to their future and an obstacle to their intellectual development. Speaking to graduates about to enter the workforce, Schmidt conceded that their fears about AI were "rational" but urged the crowd to adapt to the sprawling technology as "AI will shape the world". He urged the graduates to think about how they will shape AI. "The future is not yet finished. It is now your turn to shape it," he said. Schmidt is not alone in drawing backlash over the issue. Gloria Caulfield, a real estate executive, saw a similar reception earlier this month at the University of Central Florida. "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," she said as the crowd booed. At the mention of AI at Middle Tennessee State University commencement, Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, was also met with jeers. His response to graduates: "Deal with it, like I said, it's a tool." The tension comes amid mounting concern among young Americans about the growing role of AI in the workplace. Fearing automation, significant numbers of students are rethinking their fields of study, according to a Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2026 State of Higher Education Study. They are moving away from entry-level tech or statistical analysis and focusing on critical thinking, communication, and human-centric fields, it says. Another survey conducted by the Pew Research Center suggests that half of all American adults (50%) are "more concerned than excited" about the increasing use of AI in daily life, compared to just 10% who are more excited than concerned. The fears may be elevated in areas where technology is more easily adopted to replicate information technology work, reshaping that workforce.

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt's AI-heavy graduation speech goes badly as graduates drown him out with boos

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Just because AI is becoming prevalent doesn't mean it's becoming more accepted. For the second time in the space of a week, someone who spoke about the technology during a university graduation ceremony was met with a chorus of boos. On this occasion, the speaker was none other than former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Schmidt, who served as Google's CEO during its early years between 2001 and 2011 and was Alphabet chairman until 2017, was speaking about AI during a commencement speech at the University of Arizona. Schmidt was on shaky ground when he started talking about the dark side of modern technology, something he acknowledged he helped build. "We thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated," Schmidt said. "The same tools that connect us also isolate us. The same platforms that gave everyone a voice - like you're using now - degraded the public square." Boos were rising at this point, and they grew louder when Schmidt moved on to the controversial topic of AI - especially its negative impacts. "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear," Schmidt said, pausing as the noise crescendoed. "There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create." Schmidt did admit that the fears were "rational," but his solution was for the young audience to help shape artificial intelligence. The former Google boss then appeared to abandon his attempts at empathy by talking about how fantastic AI is, adding a bit of a taunt to those who refuse to use it. "You can now assemble a team of AI agents to help you with the parts that you could never accomplish on your own. When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat. You just get on." Schmidt seemed frustrated at the cacophony of boos, at one point curtly saying "if you let me make this point, please," which only made things worse. If this all feels a little familiar, it's because almost exactly the same thing happened at another graduation ceremony last week. On that occasion, Gloria Caulfield, VP of strategic alliances at Tavistock Group, made the mistake of calling AI "the next industrial revolution." This led to a chorus of boos from graduates from UCF's College of Arts and Humanities and the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Caulfield's response to the anger was a panicky, "Okay. We've got a bipolar topic here I see [...] I love it, passion, let's go." Despite pleas from many tech executives that often dip into outrage over people's lack of love for AI, sentiment toward the tech is not improving. Direct and indirect job losses keep growing, anger over new data centers is increasing, and AI-generated content in any medium is met with public outcry. But Schmidt still thinks we need to get on that rocket ship. Schmidt is no stranger to making controversial statements. He previously said that the United States' work-from-home culture means it struggles to compete with China and its infamous "996" work system. He also blamed Google's remote work policy for the company lagging behind rival OpenAI in the artificial intelligence race.

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt Fails to Read Room on AI. Gets Booed to Oblivion

Here's a rare news event that hasn't occurred in, gosh, a week: a university commencement speech was greeted with hostility because the speaker praised AI. In fairness, the speaker, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt was at least trying to thread the needle, vaguely empathizing with students. "There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create,†he said. But, as in the case of real estate executive Gloria Caulfield, whose pro-AI speech one week ago triggered an almost identical reaction, it's easy to see how Schmidt's words could be perceived as arrogant to a crowd that had heard the AI-inevitability message before a million times. He can be heard telling the crowd of young people they will "help shape artificial intelligence" and that, "If you don’t care about science, that’s okay, because AI is gonna touch everything else as well." In perhaps his most ill-advised moment in the 404 Media footage, Schmidt says: “You can now assemble a team of AI agents to help you with the parts that you could never accomplish on your own. When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat. You just get on.†I suspect the crowd was probably already picturing itself relegated to steerage on the great "rocket ship" of AI, but Schmidt spelled it out anyway. Premeditated booing of controversial speakers is common, and tends not to be all that newsworthy. In fact, that also happened last week to noted anti-cancel-culture guy Jonathan Haidt when he spoke at NYU. Judging from the theme of his speechâ€"basically, young people aren’t fragile snowflakesâ€"a low-energy hum of disapproval seems to have been baked into his plan. But it’s worth paying attention when a speaker’s wordsâ€"let alone two speakers’ similar wordsâ€"ignite an unplanned outcry. In fact, I would argue that you can use the spontaneous booing and heckling of commencement speakers in response to their speeches as a sort of crude barometer for picking up populist trends that will, right or wrong, define the next decade or so in politics. For instance, in 2001, at a December commencement just two months after the September 11 attacks, newspaper publisher Janis Besler Heaphy spoke to the graduates of Cal State Sacramento, and urged vigilance with regards to privacy and liberty during a jingoistic moment in history. Asking “to what degree are we willing to compromise our civil liberties in the name of security?†and saying “the Constitution makes it our right to challenge government policies,†didn’t resonate at the timeâ€"and indeed for years afterwardâ€"and got Heaphy booed completely off the stage. In May of 2016, a Cal State Fullerton commencement speech from Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas got a hostile reaction from what was apparently a more MAGA audience than expected in the heart of California’s Republican-friendly Orange County. In footage you can see her invoke the name of then presidential candidate Donald Trump while defending the news media against a rising tide of disapproval. “Now they're even blaming us, the media, for creating Donald Trump. Imagine that. Isn't that terrible?†An ominous rumble starts, and then Salinas switches to speaking Spanish very briefly. The rumble becomes unmistakable jeering. According to one news account, someone even shouted “Speak English.†A decade later, well, here we are. A telling poll from March found that Trump’s immigration policies have a net approval rating of -19, but the intensity of disapproval for the concept of AI appeared worse in that same poll (even if the finding is statistically identical) at -20 net approval. So if we use commencement speech reactions as our tea leaves, the next decade might just see a prolonged negative reaction to AI. Meeting such a moment might call for, perhaps, in the words of Blood in the Machine's Brian Merchant, "a program of rejecting generative AI in extractive and exploitative circumstances, of protecting labor from deskilling, wage degradation, and surveillance, and refusing AI’s intrusion into spheres of public life Silicon Valley [seeks] to colonize and profit from." I mean just vibes-wise. At any rate, if you're a business tycoon planning to address a crowd of college graduates in the next few weeks, try to remember who you're talking to. These people have just spent four years reading more books than you probably have in the last 20 years. They are already well informed on AI, thank you, and they are on the verge of trudging into the cruel new employment hellscape you had a hand in creating to compete against millions of spambots and OpenClaw agents for scarce seating on your AI rocket ship that feels like it's headed directly for the sun.

Students Boo Commencement Speaker After She Calls AI the 'Next Industrial Revolution'

A commencement speaker at the University of Central Florida was booed, with graduating humanities students yelling out, "AI SUCKS!" Speaking to graduates of University of Central Florida's College of Arts and Humanities and Nicholson School of Communication and Media on May 8, commencement speaker Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances at Tavistock Group, told graduating humanities students that AI is the "next industrial revolution," and was met with thousands of booing graduates. "And let's face it, change can be daunting. The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," Caulfield said. At that point, murmurs rippled through the crowd. Caulfield paused, and the crowd erupted into boos. "Oh, what happened?" Caulfield said, turning around with her hands out. "Okay, I struck a chord. May I finish?" Someone in the crowd yelled, "AI SUCKS!"

Graduation Speaker Says AI Is 'The Next Industrial Revolution,' Immediately Drowned Out by Booing Students

A piece of advice if you are giving a commencement speech this year: Do not talk to the kids about AI. That's like talking up the coal mines to kids in the 1840s. They just don't want to hear about how great the miserable future you've made for them is going to be from the people responsible for making it so bad. Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances at Tavistock Group, found this out the hard way while speaking to a group of graduates at the University of Central Florida. During her commencement speech, she told the group, "Let's face it, change can be daunting. The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.†That was met with a wave of boos from the crowd of kids getting ready to enter the workforce. Caulfield acknowledged that the message wasn't being well received, saying, “Okay, I struck a chord. May I finish?†That was greeted by a very clear message from someone in the crowd shouting, “AI sucks!†She attempted to resume her speech, saying, "Only five years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives." That got cheers and a round of applause. The kids yearn for an AI-free time. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang had a little better luck while speaking to the 128th graduating class of Carnegie Mellon University. He came to spread the good word of AI, which he said started right in the very halls where they conducted their own studies, and told the graduates they were entering into “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reindustrialize America and restore the nation’s capacity to build,†according to The Next Web. He also told them, "No generation has entered the world with more powerful toolsâ€"or greater opportunitiesâ€"than you," per Axios. "We are all standing at the same starting line. This is your moment to help shape what comes next. So run. Don't walk." Not sure that one is going to hit quite the way it is intended to, given that most young folks are pretty pessimistic about the future that has been left for them. Gallup recently found that America ranked 87th out of 141 countries for the percentage of younger adults saying it was a good time to find a job. An AP-NORC poll from April found that eight in 10 adults under the age of 35 describe the US economy as very or somewhat poor. That's the demographic of people that Huang is telling have more opportunities than anyone before them.

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed after AI remarks at Arizona commencement

Pew research shows Americans are more worried than excited about AI as graduates voiced fears over jobs A former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, was met with students' boos at a university commencement address in Arizona on Sunday when he raised the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects. Schmidt - who led the tech giant for more than a decade, acquiring a multi-billion dollar fortune in the process - was speaking to as many as 10,000 graduating University of Arizona students when he addressed the impact of modern technology on society. The topic struck a nerve of anxiety within the student body when he traced technology's evolution, through the laptop - which he said had "democratized knowledge" and led to prosperity - to the smartphone, the internet and social media. "We thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated," Schmidt said. "The same tools that connect us also isolate us. The same platforms that gave everyone a voice - like you're using now - degraded the public square," he added, referring to the polarization within democracies. Schmidt said that information technologies, including AI, had unsettled young people. "That was not the plan, but it happened," he said. Shouting and jeers against Schmidt's talk started when he acknowledged fears that AI threatened to deprive people now entering the workforce of a future. "I know what many of you are feeling about that," Schmidt said. "I can hear you. There is a fear. "There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create." He acknowledged that their fears are "rational" and encouraged them to adapt and to shape how it will be used in the future - rather than for that shape them. "The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will," Schmidt said. "The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence." The student body's response to Schmidt's remarks comes days after students graduating from the University of Central Florida booed Gloria Caulfield, a real estate executive, when she spoke of "the rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution" - and about "living in a time of profound change". "Woop, what happened?" she asked upon hearing the negative reaction. "OK, I struck a chord." She acknowledged to applause that just a few years ago AI was not an issue. "We've got a bipolar topic here, I see," she said. To renewed boos, she said: "AI capabilities are in the palm of our hands." The Pew Research Center has found that about half of Americans felt the increased prevalence of AI in their daily lives made them feel "more concerned than excited". But those fears may be elevated in areas where technology is more easily adopted to replicate information technology work, reshaping that workforce. At the sciences-focused Carnegie Mellon University recently, Nvidia chief executive officer, Jensen Huang, told graduates there's no better time to "begin your life's work" than now, even as companies lay off workers. Huang made the case that AI will be a net positive for humanity, said that it was closing the "technology divide" and maintained new opportunities would favor young people. "Now it's your time to realize your dreams, and the timing could not be more perfect," he said. While AI will automate tasks, "change every job" and even eliminate some occupations, "many new jobs and entire new industries will be created," Huang said. "AI is not likely to replace you, but someone using AI better than you might." After Schmidt's mixed reception in Arizona, a spokesperson for the university said he'd been invited for his "extraordinary" contributions to tech and innovation.

Graduation ceremony speaker blasted by boos when she calls AI 'the next industrial revolution' -- why Gen Z cheers for a time before AI

It's graduation season, which means people as cool as Harrison Ford step in front of a mic to excite the next generation of Indian Joneses. It's also a time when commencement speakers tackle gritty topics like social justice, war, climate change, the common good...and AI. AI, which is now as pervasive as the air we breathe, would not appear to be a hot button topic, at least to Florida Real Estate Executive Gloria Caulfield, who, while speaking to University of Central Florida's 2026 graduating class told them, "Artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution." The cascade of boos was so swift and angry that Caulfield paused, stepped back, and, clearly confused, said, "What happened?" Then, I guess hoping for support, she looked to some of the officials up there on stage with her and said, "Woo, I struck a chord." Caulfield turned back to the graduates and, perhaps starting to sense a shift in the crowd's mood, she asked beseechingly, "May I finish?" Ah, but there was another shoe to drop. You see, on AI Time, you get all the moods in half the time. "Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives," said a still grimly smiling Caulfield. The graduates burst into applause and lusty cheers. Caulfield turned back to her stage mates and threw up her hands, seeming to say, "What's going on here?" Just ask the parents Last week, my wife showed me a lengthy comment by one of the parents in a Facebook Grown and Flown Group. The author was decrying the sorry state of the job market for her young-adult children. In some cases, they were learning that jobs they had trained for, entry-level content creation, for instance, were gone or in short supply. They had sent out dozens and dozens of resumes and cover letters with no response. The other child decried how most of their resumes were rejected by AI before they even reached a human. In general, they were seeing that the foot-in-the-door jobs once available in most industries were drying up because that kind of basic work could be done by AI. Internships, the places where you build your resumes, are drying up, and now virtually none are available for her children. She writes, "'Get experience.' HOW? Where? If no one will hire you for the jobs where you can get experience." In the same forum, another parent shared a lengthy post titled, "I'm Terrified AI is Going to Steal My Kid's Futures," where she ponders what her college and high-school-age children studying journalism and business, respectively, will do in the future. "I'm lying awake at night wondering if I'm sending them into a world that has no place for them." She also notes how entry-level jobs are disappearing. "Junior copywriters? AI can write the copy. Financial analysts? AI can run the models. Graphic designers? AI can create the designs. Paralegals? AI can do the research. Marketing coordinators? AI can manage the campaigns. What can our kids do that machines cannot?" Canaries in the coal mine What the college students and the children of these likely Gen X parents have in common is that they are all part of the Gen Z cohort. These young people were likely between 20 and 26 years old, fitting neatly in the Gen Z space, roughly 14-29 years old. Yes, they're all digital natives, which means they've never known a world without technology and have spent most of their lives very online. AI would not be the first part of their digital experience to go awry. Multiple generations have been grappling with the negative effects of too much screen time, and, sometimes, social media, to say nothing of fake news spread on these platforms. AI, however, is something different. Maybe it's because of the speed. AI Time means technology spreads, changes, and is adopted at triple the speed of previous tech innovations. While exciting, it also means none of us is truly prepared for it. Those graduating students likely entered FSU four years ago in a world where AI was something reserved for laboratories and robots, and now graduate into a world where it's prepared to be their coworker, or worse. What Caufield got was a smack in the face of anecdotal evidence that Gen Z is not fully on board with this tech epoch. Perhaps, though, she should have, as some have suggested, read the room. That young people are not as thoroughly on board with AI as some older generations, and especially industries and companies is not news. A recent Gallup poll put this in more stark terms. In a survey of 1,500 14-to-29-year-olds, they found Gen Z AI adoption has flattened out, and "excitement for AI dropped 14 percentage points, hopefulness fell nine points, and anger rose by nine points." That's right. Gen Z isn't just worried about AI or, as the survey noted experiencing rising anxiety about it. They are angry. Instead of seeing AI as a powerful tool to spark and extend ideation, researchers say Gen Z worries that reliance on it may be lowering "cognitive and professional skills". Love it or hate it, AI isn't going anywhere It's not that they think they can outrun AI. Most of those surveyed who are still in grade school acknowledge the need to understand how to use AI when they enter higher education. "48% of students now think they will need to know how to use AI in their future jobs or career," noted the survey. Overall, though, Gen Z simply doesn't trust AI. "In the workplace, Gen Z workers are more than three times as likely to say AI's risks outweigh its benefits, and trust in AI‑assisted work is far lower than it is for work produced by humans." The reality is these FSU graduates are facing a job market that's already been refashioned by AI, and as they apply for jobs or even enter the workforce, they are finding that it's made the road (assuming there is one) harder to navigate than ever. The boos, then, are as unsurprising as is the wistfulness for a time before AI. Unfortunately, that time has passed. The Age of AI is upon us, and, like it or not, it will be up to these new generations to navigate it, control it, and ensure that it doesn't destroy us. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Graduation Speaker Shocked When She's Loudly Booed by Students for Saying AI Is the Future

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech This year's commencement speaker at the University of Central Florida was visibly floored after she extolled AI as the future of industry -- to the ire of the school's graduating students, who ferociously booed and jeered. The speaker was Florida-based businesswoman Gloria Caulfield, the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for Tavistock Development Company, a real estate firm. In her speech, she triumphantly announced that "we are living in a time of profound change," and that while "change is exciting, very exciting," it can also be "daunting." To illustrate this extremely lukewarm take, Caulfield then declared: "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution." The job-seeking graduates, however, weren't exactly thrilled with Caulfield's AI optimism. They launched into an explosive chorus of boos, prompting the speaker -- who looked genuinely surprised by their response -- to step away from the podium. "What happened?" the stunned Caulfield asked, before reflecting that she must've "struck a chord." Given the joyful Industrial Revolution comparison, we're wondering whether the real estate VP is familiar with the history of the term "Dickensian." But the wildest part of the speech happened next, when Caulfield stated that "only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives" -- a statement to which the student body responded with loud cheers. (Video showed the students excitedly raising their hands in the air.) Caulfield once again looked surprised, and, cautiously laughing, remarked that AI's impact on society seems to be a "bipolar" issue among the crowd. Which really doesn't seem to be an accurate interpretation, given that the crowd was actively cheering the memory of a pre-ChatGPT world. The speech awkwardly continued as the speaker then noted that "now, AI capabilities are in the palm of our hands," prompting -- you guessed it! -- more booing. "Passion!" she nervously exclaimed. "I love it." The two-minute clip is a painful but -- for reasons the speaker surely didn't intend -- illuminating watch. Caulfield is clearly flabbergasted by the students' response to AI boosterism, a reaction that feels wildly disconnected from the reality of the students with whom she's attempting to connect. The job market for new graduates is abysmal. Computer science degrees are increasingly fraught, and companies across industries are working to automate entry-level roles with the very AI tools that Caulfield is onstage celebrating. Polling has also consistently shown that the American public really doesn't like AI: one March survey showed that Americans are more likely to approve of Immigration and Customs Enforcement than AI. This anti-AI sentiment appears to be particularly strong among young people, with a recent Gallup poll finding that 48 percent of Zoomers believe that the risks AI poses to the workforce outweigh its potential benefits. The uncomfortable two-minute clip quickly went viral, with netizens commenting on how deep the moat between Caulfield's AI optimism and the graduating students' AI disdain seemed to be. "This graduation speech moment is notable, and her amazed shock at having failed to read the room feels instructive," remarked software engineer Cabel Sasser. "When you're inside the bubble, you think everybody else is. But everybody isn't." "The tech world," commented The Onion's June Sternbach, "has genuinely not grappled with how many people despise them and what they make."

'I understand that fear': Ex-Google CEO loudly booed by stadium full of students after talking about AI

"If you don't care about science, that's okay... because AI is going to touch everything else as well." We reported on the booing of a speaker at the University of Central Florida last week, after they declared AI to be "the next industrial revolution" in front of the assembled students. However, that's nothing compared to the absolute barracking ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt received when speaking at the University of Arizona's 2026 commencement ceremony last Friday. Addressing thousands of students at the Casino Del Sol Stadium, Schmidt began his speech by discussing the impact of modern technology on the world. "In a sense, we thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge, that humanity had been constructing for centuries," Schmidt opined, as the crowd began to rumble underneath him. It was the mention of AI, however, that really got the audience going. "Last December, Time magazine selected its person of the year for 2025, and this time it was the architects of artificial intelligence," said Schmidt, which caused a large number of the crowd to erupt into jeering and boos. "So today, we stand on this edge of another technological transformation," Schmidt continued. "One that will be larger, faster, and more consequential than what came before. It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, person, and every relationship you have." Unsurprisingly, this doubling down on the impact of AI resonated poorly with the crowd. Responding to the jeers, Schmidt said: "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear..." Schmidt paused, as the boos once again reached fever pitch. "There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written. That the machines are coming. That the jobs are evaporating. That the climate is breaking. That politics is fractured. And that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create. "And I understand that fear," Schmidt smiled, holding up his hands in an apparent act of appeasement. "It's rational. And it's amplified every day by social media platforms with algorithms that have learned with great precision that fear earns clicks and anxiety drives engagement." Schmidt then tried to strike a hopeful tone: "I want to say something to you this evening, as clearly as I can. To speak of the future as though it has already been decided is to surrender the one thing that actually matters. You're surrendering your agency." "The question is not whether AI will shape the world... it will. The question is whether you will help shape artificial intelligence." Louder boos, more jeers, more nervous smiling from Schmidt. If I may be so bold, it may not have been the best idea to list the legitimate concerns of a stadium full of young people regarding their grim-looking AI futures -- before handwaving them away as social media brainwashing that they can resist, actually, if they get onboard the AI train. After listening the potential benefits of AI in the fields of science and medicine, the biggest boos of the evening came when Schmidt declared: "If you don't care about science, that's okay... because AI is going to touch everything else as well. Whatever path you choose, AI will become part of how work is done." It's a bit like watching every public speaker's pre-show anxiety dream come to life. However, the full cause of the boos may not have been entirely down to the student's rejection of their new AI-influenced world. According to Business Insider, some attendees had planned to boo Schmidt over previous sexual assault allegations. And while Schmidt began being booed before he even reached the lectern, his comments on the AI future his ex company -- and companies like it -- are foisting upon us all certainly didn't make anything any better.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed during graduation speech about AI

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed multiple times Sunday while discussing artificial intelligence during a commencement speech at the University of Arizona. Schmidt, who led Google for a decade, opened his remarks by reflecting on his own student years and the rise of the computer, -- a device named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in 1982. He traced its evolution into the laptop and smartphone and its proliferation through the internet and social media. While the computer connected people, "democratized knowledge" and lifted many out of poverty, it also carried a darker side, Schmidt said. "The same platforms that gave everyone a voice, like you're using now, also degraded the public square," he said. "They rewarded outrage. They amplified our worst instincts. They coarsen the way we speak to each other, and that way, and in the way that we treat each other, is in the essence of a society." Schmidt then drew a parallel between artificial intelligence and the transformative impact of the computer -- and was immediately met with boos. "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you," Schmidt said, addressing the crowd as many continued to boo him. "There is a fear ... there is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics is fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create, and I understand that fear." He went on to argue that the future remains unwritten and that the graduating class of 2026 has real power to shape how AI develops -- a claim that drew further disapproval from parts of the audience. Schmidt urged graduates to embrace freedom, open debate, equality and the willingness to engage with those they disagree with. "If you'd let me make this point, please -- " Schmidt said amid boos. "The point I'd like to make is choose a diversity of perspectives, including the perspective of the immigrant who has so often been the person who came to this country and made it better. America is at its best when we are the country that ambitious people want to come to. Let us not lose that." He closed by congratulating the class and offering them closing words. "The future is not yet finished. It is now your turn to shape it." The University of Arizona did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. Schmidt's reception was not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was similarly booed at a commencement speech at the University of Central Florida after mentioning the controversial technology. "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," she said as the crowd erupted in boos.

Eric Schmidt booed during commencement speech over AI remarks - SiliconANGLE

Eric Schmidt booed during commencement speech over AI remarks Former Google LLC Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt drew boos from students during a commencement speech he gave over the weekend. The jeers came in response to Schmidt's comments about the economic impact of artificial intelligence. The high-profile incident is at least the third of its kind to have occurred in the past two weeks. Schmidt visited the University of Arizona on Sunday to give a speech before several thousand students. He began with a brief history of how personal computing devices have improved over the past few decades. After shifting the focus to today's technology, he began discussing AI agents and how students can put them to use. That's when the mood turned frosty. Attendees began jeering when Schmidt said that AI "will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory." He addressed the boos by stating that "I know what many of you are feeling about that. There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating." Schmidt joined Google shortly after its launch and served as the search giant's CEO until 2011. He spent another 9 years as board chair before leaving in 2017. Schmidt is currently the CEO of Relativity Space Inc., a company that develops space launch vehicles. Schmidt's family office, Hillspire, reportedly invested in more than a dozen AI startups between 2019 and 2025. Anthropic PBC is among the fund's portfolio companies. Schmidt's commencement speech is at least the third to have been met with a frosty reception this month over its focus on AI. Last week, students at the University of Central Florida booed a real-estate executive who described AI as the "next Industrial Revolution." A few days earlier, a commencement speaker at the Middle Tennessee State University drew a similar response after mentioning AI. There's mounting scrutiny around the impact of not only AI models but also the data centers that power them. Last week, officials in Hill County, Texas placed a one-year moratorium on the construction of data centers and related power infrastructure in unincorporated areas. According to Politico, eight data centers were set to be built in the county before the decision.

Booing Commencement Speakers Over AI Is Becoming a Trend

Graduation season is in full swing, and students nationwide are sitting through commencement addresses that they will likely forget the moment they're handed a diploma. But a few recent commencement speakers have provided some memorable moments -- just not in the way they would have wanted. On Sunday, Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, addressed students and their families at the University of Arizona's graduation ceremony. In his remarks, he discussed the expansive changes that technology has had on society, saying that the same platforms that help to amplify different kinds of voices "also degraded the public square." But it was Schmidt's invocation of AI that sparked a reaction in the crowd, as he told students that the new technology will touch every profession and every classroom. "I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you," Schmidt said to boos, per NBC News. "There is a fear. There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create." Schmidt then suggested that widespread adoption of AI was inevitable and advised students not to surrender their agency, and instead to play an active role in forming the technology. "The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will," Schmidt said, per Business Insider. "The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence." (Schmidt's selection as commencement speaker was already a source of controversy well before he took the stage. According to the Arizona Republic, a Change.org petition had circulated calling on university leadership to remove Schmidt from the ceremony, citing a lawsuit from a former business partner that accused him of assault and stalking as well as brief mentions of Schmidt in the federal government's files on Jeffrey Epstein.) Schmidt may not need cheering up, what with his tens of billions of dollars, but he could console himself with that the fact that he is not the only recent graduation speaker who has caught flak over pro-AI remarks. Gloria Caulfield, an executive with the Florida-based real estate development firm Tavistock Development Company, addressed students from the University of Central Florida in early May, and told them that "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution." Caulfield's comments promptly sparked boos which appeared to catch her off guard. "What happened?," she asked with nervous laughter, turning to look behind her. "Okay, I struck a chord." She tried to press on, telling the crowd, "Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives." By contrast, those words prompted cheers and applause from the audience. There was more nervous laughter. "Okay, alright. We've got a bipolar topic here, I see." Caulfield said. At least one speaker had a more pointed response to their audience's vocal disapproval. Scott Borchetta, the CEO and founder of Nashville record label Big Machine Records, spoke at the commencement for Middle Tennessee State University's College of Media and Entertainment, which was named after him last year. In his speech earlier this month, Borchetta said AI was a "tool and that we mustn't be afraid of it," and pressed students to make use of it. "This industry will change on you in a heartbeat.It has already changed more in the last ten years than in the 50 years prior," Borchetta said. "AI is rewriting production as we sit here." As boos rained down from the crowd, Borchetta pushed back. "Deal with it. Like I said, it's a tool," he said, smiling. "Hey, you can hear me now or you can pay me later." The strong reaction to AI in such public settings seems to reflect a general unease about the new technology among Americans. In a newly released New York Times/Siena College poll, 35 percent of American voters said they think artificial intelligence is "mostly bad." When shifted to respondents between 18-29 years old, that figure jumped to 47 percent.

UCF Graduation Speaker Totally Shocked When Students Boo AI

The University of Central Florida commencement speak didn't know how to read the room I don’t know the vetting processes universities go through when screening their graduation speakers. The U.S. has thousands of institutions of higher learning, and they all need someone to give a speech to inspire the youth each spring. The speaker for the University of Central Florida attempted to do just that, and it seemed to be going alright until she mentioned AI. The University of Central Florida held its spring semester graduation ceremony on May 8, and it included a speech by businesswoman Gloria Caulfield, the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for real estate firm Tavistock Development Company, and the President of the Lake Nona Institute, a non-profit that "incubates, activates, and measures the impact of innovative technologies and programs that can become global models for building healthy, sustainable, and inspired communities." According to her LinkedIn profile, Caulfield isn’t a UCF alumna, but is based in Florida. I guess proximity gets you in the door for these sorts of things, too. Caulfield’s speech starts off simple enough. She thanks the University staff for having her and tells the graduates to take in the moment. Then it starts to get weird when she starts talking about how she has worked with some of the "most prolific leaders and innovators of our time.†These “leaders of significant accomplishments†includeâ€|Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and known ghoul. But the backlash to her speech didn’t get loud until she called AI the “next Industrial Revolution": We are living in a time of profound change. That's an understatement, right? Profound change. Change is exciting. Very exciting. And let's face it, change can be daunting. The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution. This statement is immediately met with boos from the crowd, which seems to surprise Caulfield, because she turns to people on stage and asks “what happened?†When she continues, she says that “only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives,†which is met with applause from the room. This, again, seems to boggle Caulfield’s mind, as she says AI seems to be a “bipolar†topic in the room. People use “bipolar†as a way to describe what some view as an inconsistent response to something, but Caulfield fails to realize that booing the notion that technology is being used to replace human jobs and applauding that this was once not a concern for college kids who are about to head out into the workforce is actually very consistent. But she’s clearly frazzled that she’s lost the room so quickly, so I suppose her brain just picked the first word that came to mind. She keeps going and says that AI capabilities are now in the palm of our hands, which, again, the kids boo. She commends this as “passion.†If I were in her shoes, I’d maybe start skipping ahead a few lines in my speech. But her entire thesis is that the job market has faced uncertainty before, and while the introduction of things like the internet was seeming scary at the time, they ultimately paved the way for new jobs in the future, so she ploughed through anyway. The whole thing is an uncomfortable, but cathartic watch. You know these kids have come into university at the beginnings of the rise of AI and its known threat to jobs as penny-pinching corpos look for any way to cut costs for themselves at the expense of their workers’ livelihoods. What makes you think a graduation ceremony is the place to be glazing AI as the future? It’s ghoulish, but Caulfield’s surprise is the kind of reaction you get when you’re completely disconnected from the fears and struggles of people being shoved out into an economy being taken over by AI. Nevertheless, Caulfield said on her Instagram account that the graduation ceremony was “an extraordinary evening it was to empower the next generation†and that she was “humbled†to be able to spend the night “igniting optimism and potential in our future leaders.†Okay, girl.

'Let me make this point, please...': Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed by University of Arizona students. Here's what he said on AI

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced boos at the University of Arizona commencement for warning graduates about technology's 'mess'. He acknowledged fears about AI's impact on jobs and the future, urging students to adapt and shape its use. Concerns over AI-related job losses and past allegations against Schmidt fueled the sharp reaction. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was discussing artificial intelligence during a commencement speech at the University of Arizona. But the moment turned out to be embarrassing when students booed at him multiple times, reports NBC News. Schmidt, who led Google for a decade, faced this situation after warning graduates about the "mess" created by modern technology and artificial intelligence. ALSO READ: Jensen Huang calls out US push to ban AI chip exports to China, calls it "completely ridiculous" The tech veteran began his remarks by reflecting on his own student days and the early rise of the computer -- a device that was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in 1982. He then traced its evolution from early computing systems to modern laptops and smartphones, and its widespread expansion through the internet and social media. While the computer connected people, "democratized knowledge" and lifted many out of poverty, it also carried a darker side, Schmidt said. ALSO READ: Salesforce planning a future without new engineers? CEO Marc Benioff's AI strategy sparks industry buzz "The same platforms that gave everyone a voice, like you're using now, also degraded the public square," he said. "They rewarded outrage. They amplified our worst instincts. They coarsen the way we speak to each other, and that way, and in the way that we treat each other, is in the essence of a society." Schmidt then drew a parallel between artificial intelligence and the transformative impact of the computer -- and was immediately met with boos. 'There is a fear...'"I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you," Schmidt said, addressing the crowd as many continued to boo him. "There is a fear ... there is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics is fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create, and I understand that fear." He acknowledged those fears as "rational," but urged graduates to adapt and help shape how AI is used. "If you'd let me make this point, please -- " Schmidt said amid boos. "The point I'd like to make is choose a diversity of perspectives, including the perspective of the immigrant who has so often been the person who came to this country and made it better. America is at its best when we are the country that ambitious people want to come to. Let us not lose that." He concluded his speech by congratulating the class and offering them closing words. "The future is not yet finished. It is now your turn to shape it." Why students reacted sharplyMany graduates expressed concerns that AI could reduce entry-level job opportunities, especially as companies such as Klarna and IBM have already announced AI-related layoffs. A Pew Research study also found that half of Americans feel more concerned than excited about the growing role of artificial intelligence. Separately, some students had planned to protest Schmidt over past sexual assault allegations, which his attorney has described as "fabricated." University of Arizona spokesperson Mitch Zak said Schmidt was invited to deliver the commencement address because of his "extraordinary leadership and global contributions in technology, innovation and scientific advancement." "He helped lead Google's rise into one of the world's most influential technology companies and continues to advance research and discovery through major philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including partnerships that support important work at the University of Arizona," Zak added. Schmidt's reception was not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was similarly booed at a commencement speech at the University of Central Florida after mentioning the controversial technology. "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," she said as the crowd erupted in boos. Schmidt has previously expressed concerns about the rapid evolution of AI, saying it is moving from a helpful assistant to a potential replacement for skilled programmers. He revealed that at leading AI research labs such as OpenAI and Anthropic, AI systems are already performing around 10 to 20 percent of programming work, and that this share is expected to rise quickly. He has also argued that AI is "under-hyped rather than overhyped," emphasizing that its biggest economic impact may come from automating corporate operations, not just coding tasks.