Something Strange Is Happening at College Graduations Across the Country

Graduation ceremonies feature wealthy, prominent speakers addressing debt-burdened graduates entering a frozen job market. Many graduates are prepared to boo when artificial intelligence is mentioned. At the University of Central Florida, Gloria Caulfield warned that the rise of artificial intelligence would bring “profound change,” comparing it to the next Industrial Revolution. Her remarks prompted rapid boos, followed by some applause when she noted that AI had not been a factor only a few years earlier. The boos returned when she said AI capabilities are already in people’s hands. Similar reactions occurred at Middle Tennessee State University when Scott Borchetta compared AI to an unopened instrument and said it is rewriting music production, prompting interjections and a “Deal with it” response. Eric Schmidt also faced loud reactions after speaking about AI.

"The rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution,” she said. The boos began, swelling in volume so rapidly that Caufield wondered aloud, “What happened?,“ before earning some subsequent applause for making the observation that “only a few years ago, A.I. was not a factor in our lives.” But the jeers returned once she noted that “A.I. capabilities are in the palm of our hands.”"

"Scott Borchetta closed out graduation week at Middle Tennessee State University with a speech in which he compared A.I. to “ a fine instrument, unopened, still sitting in its case” and pointed out that the software is “rewriting [music] production as we sit here.” (Fact check: true.) That elicited plenty of interjections from the degree-holders below his lectern, to whom Borchetta responded, “ Deal with it.”"

"They grads are also primed to boo any speakers who so much as mutter the words “artificial intelligence.” It’s graduation season, so you know what that means: a lotta commencement speeches from wealthy figures of renown—all directed to debt-burdened, half-asleep, cap-and-gown-clad graduates worried about the frozen job market awaiting them."

Read at Slate Magazine