"“It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have,” Schmidt said, as booing began to build in the audience. “I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you,” Schmidt responded as the boos continued. “There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating ... and I understand that fear.”"
"To students the topic felt tone deaf, said Olivia Malone, a 22-year-old University of Arizona graduate bound for law school. “His speech was incredibly disrespectful to students,” said Malone. “We as students are discouraged from using it and penalized for using it. And then to have our speaker be the champion of AI is just like, OK? Why?”"
"Across campuses and in a multitude of recent surveys, students say they are trying to figure out which skills, majors and jobs won't be rendered useless by AI. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School."
AI has become an unwelcome topic at college commencements as graduates interrupt speakers with boos when artificial intelligence is mentioned. At the University of Arizona, Eric Schmidt faced repeated jeers during a keynote to about 10,000 graduates. Schmidt said AI will affect every profession, classroom, hospital, laboratory, person, and relationship, and he responded to the booing by acknowledging students’ fear that the future is already written and jobs are evaporating. Students described the AI focus as tone deaf and disrespectful, noting that they are discouraged from using AI and penalized for using it. Surveys show widespread anxiety, with about 70% of college students viewing AI as a threat to job prospects.
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