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College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

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Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#121

Post by chadgpt3 »

PaulHoule wrote: post #109
jerf wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has never been a commencement speech made when the speaker couldn't have spent the entire time speaking about problems. Ever. Not even one. It has always been possible to spin an hour of doom and gloom about the future, based on 100% real problems. A commencement speech is not the time or place for that. I'm not saying it has to be 100% upbeat each time, just that it is not the time or place for an enumeration…

I think in this case the speaker was talking about a "solution" which the students perceived as a "problem"

I think the speaker was talking about a "problem" which the speaker perceived as a "solution"

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#122

Post by RIMR »

forgetfreeman wrote: post #68
hermannj314 wrote: post #31

"After my speech for the troops about how we are losing in Iran, my speech to children with cancer about how we've gutted research, sure I can then give a speech to people entering the job market about how AI is ruining the job market" Perfect, that's exactly the message of despair we want to send! (How I imagine picking these speakers goes at every college campus)

The first step in resolving any problem is acknowledging that it exists. Ignoring real issues in favor of comfortable narratives is insane.

Okay, show me where these commencement speakers are acknowledging that AI is a problem.

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#123

Post by teekert »

smallmancontrov wrote: post #110
tdeck wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But why so anti AI specfically? Because society is structured so that every time some labor-saving innovation comes along, it's used as a tool to drive down wages and reduce workers' bargaining power. And they leaders of these industries aren't exactly hiding it. You might be able to game it in the short term, but It's not like anyone is seriously thinking this will reduce the totality of our efforts in the long te…

Yep. In theory, labor saving innovation (or handing jobs off overseas) should be a joyous occasional all. It could be a joyous occasion for all. But we have structured it so that, the moment it happens, 200% of the benefits go to capital and -100% go to labor -- and the consolation prize for labor is that maybe some of the 200% will trickle down into a different job later, or willingness to spend on overpriced haircu…

I agree, this is a reason to boo the (tech) elites. But they seem to boo genAI specifically, right? I'd understand it if they'd just started booing right from the first word.

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#124

Post by gruez »

romaniv wrote: post #106

GenAI is the first technology that I've ever seen that is actively rejected by young adults and fervently pushed by people over 55. It seems Eric Schmids of the world think they (in their 70s) have more say about the future of these students than the students themselves. That is very unlikely.

>and fervently pushed by people over 55.

Source? I think you're conflating "pushed by CEOs" (which might lean on the older side) with "pushed by people over 55".

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#125

Post by dyauspitr »

Ecstatify wrote: post #72
tedggh wrote: post #25

Eric Schmidt’s speech was particularly bad regardless of the subject, his condescending tone alone deserved the booing.

Not the only issue people have issues with: > Ritter filed a lawsuit in November that alleged Schmidt, a former chief executive and chairman of Google, “forcibly raped” her while on a yacht off the coast of Mexico in 2021. > She also claimed they had sex without her consent during the 2023 Burning Man festival in Nevada. ref: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-03-06/former-goo...

So we’re just going to believe her? Why?

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#126

Post by lkey »

lazide wrote: post #107
dylan604 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trying to wrap my head around how one can still be around someone in 2023 after what happened in 2021. This confusion no way justifies what happened nor am I blaming anyone. I just don't understand it.

Money. Usually the lawsuits start when the money is more likely to come from that, than from enabling the behavior.

Rape apologia.

81% of women have been sexually harassed, at least 20% have been raped. Yet, weirdly, that hasn't changed the allocation of capital in the United States in their collective favor.

But let's see what kind of person you actually are. Do you have a problem with suing, post-rape? What kind of society would you consider ideal?

Keep in mind that the current criminal case closure rate of rape cases is 25% and has been dropping for the last 10 years.

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#127

Post by irishcoffee »

lkey wrote: post #111
dylan604 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trying to wrap my head around how one can still be around someone in 2023 after what happened in 2021. This confusion no way justifies what happened nor am I blaming anyone. I just don't understand it.

Staying with your rapist husband/boyfriend is the norm. He might beg for forgiveness and say he won't do it again. He might say he didn't understand you when you said no. He might threaten to kill you if you open your mouth one more time. He might do all of those in the same five minute span. Almost every women I am close to has been raped or assaulted. What part of this do you specifically not understand?

A lot of people walk away from physically, mentally, or emotionally abusive relationships. I know many.

Reading the question generously, the person is asking why someone stays instead of leaves. Two of your 3 examples are emotional manipulation (big red flag, run away) and the last one is a threat to your life (big, big red flag, run away).

I think it is reasonable for someone to not understand why a person would choose to stay in that situation.

Of course, life is more nuanced than that, and the rash of pro athletes lately that have been exonerated from these accusations further muddies the waters.

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#128

Post by teekert »

IshKebab wrote: post #118
teekert wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you seriously think everybody is a programmer now that we have AI? Or that we don't need programmers anymore? The tools are just changing. But everything is always changing. Again: Sure they have much to boo about, but AI? Gen AI can run on your own machine even, you can fully own the means to your production. How is this wasting the time they spent studying? You still need knowledge and understanding of a field t…

If I hear that "AI is just a tool" nonsense one more time...

Ok, so what is it then?

To me it's a tool. It helps me accomplish my goals with less effort. That's the definition of a tool right? What is AI to you then? Perhaps I'm being dumb, but not sarcastic.

Re: College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

#129

Post by mekdoonggi »

OutOfHere wrote: post #92
mekdoonggi wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They aren't rejecting it at all. They are expressing their opinion on it which is hugely negative. Why? Because it's a useful technology, but so far has succeeded in taking jobs away, poisoning minds, art, and politics, hoovering up all the capital, and getting shoved into every possible thing. The billionaires tell us over and over, "Get on board or you'll starve!" and I am certain they will be stunned when they mee…

> They aren't rejecting it at all. They are expressing their opinion on it which is hugely negative. It is one and the same. > I am certain they will be stunned when they meet the rude end of a pitchfork. Is that a threat? Also, do you understand how the police and government work, and whose side they will take? Even if magically the government were on the side of the luddites, which they won't be, China would then t…

> It is one and the same. Wrong. I have a hugely negative opinion on cars that I express often. Still, I think streets should be complete, and roads built for all modes of travel, and more restrictive laws on car use.

> Is that a threat? No. Do you feel threatened? Rest assured, you won't be the billionaire and I won't be a part of the mob, but I'm warning that is what will happen when ordinary people are pushed too far. China taking over the country would be a massive improvement, but they're going to do that by prompting, "Chat take over the US"? Unlikely.

> The people should be asking for basic assistance benefits You have resigned your agency as a free human being. We are just a bunch of humans on earth. If we all decided AI was bad enough we could ban it. The people don't want basic assistance, they want a say in the direction of their lives. At the moment, their lives are being directed by billionaires and those who saw a fancy chatbot and decided to willingly become a serf.

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