Graduations boo AI praise, turning speeches into backlash

students boo – College commencement crowds across the U.S. have booed multiple speakers after speeches praised or referenced artificial intelligence, while some students say they’re already worried about jobs, academic integrity, and authenticity—and have seen technology fai

For many graduates, commencement is supposed to sound like cheering—handshakes, speeches, maybe a few happy tears. This year, in multiple ceremonies across the country, it sounded different.

At the University of Central Florida on May 8. real estate development executive Gloria Caulfield tried to begin her remarks with a familiar crowd-pleaser: “OK. I struck a chord. May I finish?” The line landed with loud booing. which erupted again when Caulfield called the rise of artificial intelligence the “next Industrial Revolution.” In a video of the moment. a person in the audience can be heard yelling. “AI sucks!”.

A few moments later, the tone swung again. The crowd cheered after Caulfield said AI was not part of our lives just a few years ago.

The same kind of tension has played out in other graduation halls this month, as commencement season brings speeches from well-known figures and companies—and as AI, praised by some as progress, collides with a growing student unease.

The booing isn’t just about the word “AI.” It’s about what students believe AI is doing to their futures—and what they’ve seen it do to the people on stage.

At Middle Tennessee State University. Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta was booed on May 9 while talking to students in the commencement ceremony for the school’s college of media and entertainment. named after him. In his speech. Borchetta said the speed of technological development in the last decade exceeded the pace of the previous half-century. He argued: “Streaming rewrote the economics, social media rewrote the discovery model, AI is rewriting production as we sit here.”.

When the booing started, Borchetta pushed back. “I know it. Deal with it,” he added. “Like I said, it’s a tool.”

At Glendale Community College in Arizona. students reacted to AI for a different reason—one tied to a mistake they say became part of their graduation day. During the May 15 ceremony. an AI announcing software botched the names of graduates or skipped them entirely. reported the Arizona Republic. Hundreds of students were impacted.

The school’s president, Tiffany Hernandez, addressed the problem on stage during the ceremony. “Here’s what’s happening. We’re using a new AI system as our reader,” Hernandez said. “That is a lesson learned for us.” Afterward. many students walked the stage a second time. with a real person reading names instead.

Not every AI mention triggered anger, and some speeches drew laughs or applause. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak received applause from graduates when he told them they have “AI. Actual Intelligence.” In Michigan. Wozniak got applause and laughter at Grand Valley State University’s commencement when he made an AI quip: “You all have AI. Actual intelligence.”.

Still, the pattern this season has been loud enough to catch attention: speeches that praise AI as the next leap forward are being met with boos, jeers, and in some cases direct confrontation.

Part of the reason, according to Fabrizio Cariani, is that students aren’t speaking with one voice. Cariani. a professor and chair of the philosophy department at the University of Maryland. teaches a class called “AI and the Human Experience.” On his campus. he said there’s a stigma around using AI in academic work. which can make proponents quieter about their attitudes.

But even with that, Cariani told that he sees real concern among students about how AI could affect their lives. He said strong reactions at graduation don’t mean all college students or graduates are rejecting AI. Still, he described worries—particularly about the impact on labor markets and entry-level jobs.

Cariani said students tend to have several key concerns. They include uncertainty over AI’s impact on the job market, worries over the ecological impact of big generative AI data centers, questions about academic integrity, and even the abstract concept of what authenticity means in a world with AI.

In his own teaching, Cariani tries to test those attitudes directly. He said he wanted to implement certain assignments for which its use was prohibited. while asking students to collaborate with AI to brainstorm about other work. Some students embraced the idea. but Cariani said the reaction of a majority carried what he described as an “attitude of rejection” that matches what he has seen in the graduation booings.

One reason those fears may feel urgent to students is that many of them are already pessimistic about job prospects. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that Gen Z—the generation most today’s college graduates belong to—is the most pessimistic group on AI and employment. In the poll, 81% of Gen Z respondents thought AI advancement will cause a decrease in job opportunities.

At Marquette University in Wisconsin, the backlash also extended to an AI expert. Chris Duffey, an AI expert, spoke at an undergraduate ceremony despite student pushback, the Associated Press reported. Recent graduate Sami Wargo told the AP that she and other students booed Duffey because they felt his remarks were “a little bit tone deaf” given how AI has become a growing threat to their jobs—especially for their graduating class.

For some students, the reaction also reflects anger over specific disruptions and rules that shape their academic lives. Grace Reimer. who graduated with an associate’s degree in fine arts from Glendale Community College in Arizona. said she felt the school ruined “one of the biggest moments in my life” after the AI name announcement blunder. Reimer told the Arizona Republic that incorrect name and degree information were shown during photos of her on stage.

Reimer also said her class syllabi had strict rules about AI use in academic work. She told the publication that students can be punished or expelled for using AI when they are not supposed to.

Even so, Cariani said he does not think it’s a bad thing for graduates to boo AI’s mention. He framed it as a sign that students are processing the issue instead of tuning it out. He said he hoped the conversation moves beyond immediate rejection.

“I think it’s a good development to put these questions at the front of the conversation,” he said. “Booing is an immediate reaction. I’m assuming that behind this immediate reaction, there is some collection of thoughts, and I want to see those thoughts enter the conversation.”

Cariani also said that in some ways AI’s advancement is inevitable, and that the question is what people do with it. “The best thing we can do is have conversations about how to direct these tools towards the betterment of humanity and society.”

This commencement season. students appear to be forcing that conversation into the open—sometimes with cheers. sometimes with boos. and often with the unmistakable message that they don’t just want AI celebrated from a podium. They want answers that match their concerns, and systems that don’t treat their moment as a test run.

commencement booing artificial intelligence AI backlash UCF commencement Gloria Caulfield Scott Borchetta Middle Tennessee State University Glendale Community College Tiffany Hernandez Steve Wozniak Chris Duffey job concerns academic integrity