At this year's commencement ceremonies, graduates are making it clear they're not thrilled about artificial intelligence. Gloria Caulfield, an executive from real estate firm Tavistock Development Company, learned this firsthand at the University of Central Florida last week. When she described the rise of AI as "the next industrial revolution," the audience responded with increasingly loud boos. Caulfield recovered by joking, "Okay, I struck a chord," before trying to continue—only for the crowd to burst into cheers and applause when she noted that "only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives."
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt encountered an even rougher reception at the University of Arizona on Friday. His troubles started before he even took the stage, as student groups had already called for his removal as speaker due to a lawsuit filed by a former girlfriend and business partner who accused him of sexual assault. Schmidt has denied the allegations. When he told students "You will help shape artificial intelligence," the booing was loud and sustained. Schmidt pressed forward, saying, "When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat, you just get on."
Not every tech leader faced backlash, however. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a commencement address at Carnegie Mellon without any audible pushback, even describing how AI has "reinvented computing." The contrast suggests that student reactions depend heavily on context and delivery.
The negative responses reflect genuine anxiety among young Americans about their job prospects. A recent Gallup poll found that only 43% of people aged 15 to 34 believe it's a good time to find a job locally—a dramatic decline from 75% in 2022. While this pessimism isn't solely about AI, the technology's rapid advancement appears to be fueling concerns about the future workforce.