Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt drew boos at the University of Arizona’s graduation ceremony as he spoke about AI’s impact on jobs and society, while students also prepared to protest sexual assault allegations against him.
Boos cut through the University of Arizona’s graduation ceremony on Friday as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt stepped up to speak about artificial intelligence, a topic that landed in a tense moment for students about to enter the workforce.
While other speakers received cheers and applause, Schmidt’s remarks about how modern technology is reshaping society sparked discomfort.. He opened with a reflection on his own work. saying. “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.” He added: “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.”
As he continued, Schmidt acknowledged the outcome of technological change after his graduation.. “In the years after I graduated. no one sat down and resolved to build technology that would polarize democracies and unsettle a generation of young people.. That was not the plan, but it happened.” Students’ boos grew louder when he turned directly to AI.
Schmidt paused briefly as the shouts intensified, saying, “I know what many of you are feeling about that.. I can hear you.. There is a fear.” He described that fear as shared across the class: “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 then called those worries “rational,” but urged adaptation and involvement. “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 backdrop to the moment is a rapidly shifting workforce.. AI is transforming global hiring and the skills companies seek. from how firms screen potential candidates to the training they now prioritize.. Even as young people increasingly use AI in daily life. surveys show they are worried about what it means for their careers.. The article also notes that AI’s capacity to automate routine tasks has prompted some companies to reduce hiring for entry-level positions.. Klarna and IBM have both already conducted AI-related layoffs.
A Pew Research Center study found that about half of Americans felt the increased prevalence of AI in their daily lives made them feel “more concerned than excited.”
Schmidt’s speech did not land in a vacuum. Some students planned ahead to boo him over sexual assault allegations made against him last year. An attorney for Schmidt said the accusations were “fabricated.” In March, a judge ordered the suit settled through arbitration.
The University of Arizona said it invited Schmidt because of his “extraordinary” contributions to tech and innovation.. A spokesperson added that he “helped lead Google’s rise into one of the world’s most influential technology companies” and continues advancing research and discovery through major philanthropic and scientific initiatives. including partnerships that support “important work at the University of Arizona.”
Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, also delivered a graduation address last week at Carnegie Mellon, taking a noticeably more upbeat tone about the same technology. Huang argued, “AI is not likely to replace you,” while acknowledging job-market anxiety. “But someone using AI better than you might.”
Eric Schmidt University of Arizona graduation artificial intelligence AI jobs Klarna IBM layoffs Pew Research Center Jensen Huang Nvidia arbitration allegations