Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements

Post by stogot » Wed, May 20, 2026, 4:38 AM UTC

breakpointalpha wrote: post #163

evil-olive wrote: post #51

> “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.” 71 year old man with a net worth of $64 billion [0] tells a bunch of 20-somethings (many of whom have tens of thousands of dollars in student…

U of Arizona graduated roughly 10,000 students this weekend. Schmidt could have paid off every student loan for every graduate in full and not even noticed it as a rounding error in his net worth. Would have done so much more for humanity that this vapid speech.

Post by leptons » Wed, May 20, 2026, 6:22 AM UTC

ch4s3 wrote: post #140

leptons wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mangione was a one-off, and a lot of people understand why he may have done what he did. Just wait until the American version of the French Revolution happens. If AI keeps stealing all the jobs, it will come sooner rather than later.

> and a lot of people understand why he may have done what he did. He didn't understand why he did what he did. > just wait until the American version of the French Revolution happens We should all be trying to actively prevent that. The French Revolution was a complete failure and mostly succeeded in killing poor people and launching Napoleon's wars.

Post by [deleted] » Wed, May 20, 2026, 6:27 AM UTC

ch4s3 wrote: post #142

leptons wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Who is your evidence? Lol. The French Revolition turned out pretty well for the French people. It needed to happen. And centuries later, the French still don't accept bullshit, they will protest and riot when their protections are diminished in any way. America does protesy and riot too, though not to the same extent, but that will only get worse as things get bad. Russia is not a good example either, their socie…

> The French Revolition turned out pretty well for the French people. What? Napoleon marched them off to war "spending 30,000 lives per month". They didn't get a proper Republic until 1870 and turned into miserable colonial overlords. Moreover the 3rd Republic;s foreign policy helped cause WWI.

Post by soco » Wed, May 20, 2026, 8:33 AM UTC

havblue wrote: post #67

ethanplant wrote: post #5

I’m genuinely confused as to why the speakers are baffled by the boos. Everyone, and especially new grads constantly hear that AI is going to replace every job. And absolutely no one seems to be interested in answering the question of “okay, then what?” Of course people are going to react negatively when they hear, “the machines are going to take your jobs from you. No, we don’t care how you’ll be able to pay your re…

When I was in high school, the guidance counselors never really talked about job headwinds. Those were things that would presumably happen to other kids. The recipient of a motivational speech has infinite potential. It's the same logic with discussing AI. The audience is the cream of the crop and will adapt to the future and benefit from technology. It's those other kids who didn't get your advice that might have to…

Post by wolvesechoes » Wed, May 20, 2026, 9:13 AM UTC

bryan0 wrote: post #35

ethanplant wrote: post #5

I’m genuinely confused as to why the speakers are baffled by the boos. Everyone, and especially new grads constantly hear that AI is going to replace every job. And absolutely no one seems to be interested in answering the question of “okay, then what?” Of course people are going to react negatively when they hear, “the machines are going to take your jobs from you. No, we don’t care how you’ll be able to pay your re…

> Schmidt offered a similar message to graduates: Their fear is rational, but they have the power to shape how AI develops. This doesn't sound like being baffled by it. It sounds like they are trying to shake the students and say: "fine boo, but you need do something about it." You can't just wallow and complain about it. I mean you can but it's a path to failure.