US students on why they booed their pro-AI graduation speakers: They're not reading the room'

AI is being presented as a fast-changing force in music production and the broader job market. A record label CEO said the industry has changed dramatically in the last decade and that AI is rewriting production immediately. He urged graduates to treat AI as a tool and make it work for them, while warning that early lessons may already be obsolete. Graduates responded with boos, reflecting frustration with executives who appeared out of touch with student anxieties. A Harvard poll found many young people view AI as a threat to career prospects. Graduates are entering a labor market where AI-driven efficiency is being used to justify layoffs, creating a sense of betrayal about the value of their degrees.

"“This industry will change on you in a heartbeat. It has already changed more in the last 10 years than in the 50 years prior. AI is rewriting production as we sit here,” said Scott Borchetta, CEO of the record label Big Machine. After a few stray boos from graduates, he doubled down: “Deal with it.”"

"“You can hear me now or you can pay me later then do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you.” He continued: “The things you learned in your first year here may already be obsolete.” The remarks drew louder jeering as students reacted in real time to the message about AI’s speed and impact."

"Pagel felt the boos reflected how annoyed students were about what they saw as out-of-touch executives downplaying their anxieties about AI. A 2025 Harvard poll of young people in the US found that a majority see AI as a threat to their career prospects. Pagel and his peers are entering a job market where AI's efficiency is already being used to justify mass layoffs."

"“We’ve been pushed our entire lives to get our diplomas. Then you pulled the rug out from underneath us, and said: Oh, you know those four years you spent learning how to do very specific things, you don’t need to do it any more,” Pagel says. “We can get a computer to do it for two-thirds the price.”"

Read at www.theguardian.com