In tough times, alumni find hope in humiliating tech CEOs

College graduates boo and heckle corporate executives who praise AI during their graduation ceremonies, and the only people who seem to be truly surprised by this are the CEOs themselves.

In a parade of viral videos, speakers at the 2026 graduation ceremony, such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, face loud, sustained boos from students after praising artificial intelligence and calling the technology inevitable and mandatory. The videos have clearly struck a chord among young people entering a The job market is bleak Increasingly An unstable world.

“They deserve everything they get,” said Penny Oliver, who recently graduated with a degree in political science from George Mason University. Edge. “Some might argue that they’re coming off kind of lightly. I’m not saying they deserve to get hurt, but it shows a level of arrogance and detachment when you see that.”

Schmidt was met with a chorus of boos at the University of Arizona last week as he lectured graduates about accepting technology as part of their future. “When someone offers you a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask which seat. You just sit,” Schmidt told the hall of angry graduates. The reason for the anger should have been clear. like Journalist Marissa Capas said“These young people have already been forced onto the ship and there are not enough seats.”

The previous week, Gloria Caulfield, an executive at a real estate developer, expressed shock after receiving a letter… Likewise icy reception of Arts and Humanities students at the University of Central Florida, where she described artificial intelligence as “the next industrial revolution.” At Middle Tennessee State University, Scott Borchetta, the music industry CEO known for helping launch Taylor Swift’s career, gave a loud and surprising speech. Arrogant speech mocking AI harassers And telling students who criticize AI to simply “deal with it.” And with ongoing graduation season and online videos bringing anti-AI sentiment to a boiling point, these incidents likely won’t be the last.

“Of course people will be angry and of course they will boo. Why wouldn’t they?” Oliver said. “They’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on an education that’s supposed to give them more opportunities, and here comes this guy (Schmidt) who’s never been able to work another day in his life and is still very comfortable and rich saying, ‘Hey, you should really get on the bandwagon of this technology that’s going to replace you.’”

For many graduates, the speakers’ surprising and controversial reactions reveal a huge disconnect between technology advocates who are aggressively pushing AI and young people who are left to deal with many of the challenges. Well documented ConsequencesThat threatens everything from the environment We have Critical thinking skills. Young people seem particularly disdainful of the situation presented: the speakers seem to be saying that not only do you have to accept this technology we’ve created that’s causing your existential fear and job opportunities to quickly evaporate, but you also have to like it.

“It shows a complete lack of connection with real people, and it doesn’t surprise me,” said Austin Burkett, a game designer who recently graduated with a master’s degree in fine arts from New York University’s Game Center. Edge.

Burkett is one of the lucky ones. Before graduating, he found a job at Pocket Bard, a mobile app used by tabletop role-playing gamers, which they tend to be. Vigorously combat artificial intelligence. But he says some of his former colleagues have had to take responsibility Transient gig work for training AI models that it replaces, and that graduates are right to be angry at corporate executives who adopt a smiling “adopt or die” attitude about technology.

“These are not the people who should be worrying about rent, and these are not the people who should be worrying about replacing their jobs,” Burkett added. “The people who say ‘it’s just a tool’ are the ones who can say that. It puts the blame on the individual, and it puts forward this myth that these institutions, systems and companies have no ulterior motives and no reasons to make profit.”

To be fair, student receptions for commencement speakers who promote AI often vary depending on the disciplines of the audience. The strongest reactions seen in the viral videos came mainly from liberal arts and humanities students.

Many of these graduates include students hoping to enroll Creative professions Which faces existential threats thanks to generative AI tools. At Calarts, President Ravi Rajan was booed off the stage by the graduates The legendary art school in California, known as an incubator for talent in the animation industry. Rajan faced severe criticism after canceling the creative programs and Driving the adoption of artificial intelligence At the university through partnerships with technology companies.

Student anger is reaching a peak at a time when young people in most fields are facing intense pressure from the tech and business worlds to adopt generative AI tools — even as employers use those same tools to justify hiring freezes and mass layoffs. While surveys show that students and Generation Z are the most frequent users of AI tools, They are also very skeptical From Silicon Valley and have become the biggest critics of technology.

This is not surprising given that young people regularly witness technology failing to deliver on its basic promises. At the graduation ceremony for Glendale Community College in Arizona, the room was filled with angry boos after the college’s president revealed that… The school’s new AI system failed to read more than half of students’ names As they climbed on stage to receive their diplomas. Earlier this week, New York Times I mentioned that it is a great non-fiction book by Steven Rosenbaum about truth in the age of artificial intelligence Contains many false or misattributed quotes Hallucinations with artificial intelligence tools.

“Society is restructuring itself around a tool that simply does not work,” the author says Written by Margaret Killjoy This week in response to the events. “If you need to build a bridge, you’re not going to hire a structural engineer who gets the job done right about 70% of the time. You’re not going to read a history book that’s 30% fiction but doesn’t tell you what 30% is.”

It would be a mistake to ignore that much of the anger young people express against AI flows through technology platforms that drive engagement and engagement metrics. Short-term cycles of paralyzing rage. Viral videos can be a great way to unite a lot of people, but alumni like Oliver seem keenly aware that it doesn’t translate into material change unless people step up and take action.

“I definitely think there’s a catharsis in it, especially at a time when there seems to be no consequences for rich people at all,” Oliver said of the much-talked-about videos. “I think it’s possible to take that anger and channel it into something impactful, but it doesn’t just pop up. People have to come together and say ‘let’s do something.’

One concrete example is the massive movement that has emerged across the country Opposition to the construction of artificial intelligence data centers. According to another Gallup Pollseven in 10 Americans now say they oppose building these facilities in their local area, and Nearly half of all proposed data center projects have been canceled or delayed this year. Unprecedented Power requirements and Environmental threats Enforced by data centers, data centers have created a network of physical rallying points for those who oppose the tech world’s multi-trillion-dollar surplus of artificial intelligence, and some alumni have been encouraged by the role young people have played in the fight.

“I think that despite wanting to feel nihilistic about it, I have a glimmer of hope, inspired by people my age or younger,” Burkett said, referring to a play written by high school students who were motivated by environmental problems caused by artificial intelligence. “It’s inspiring to see that it’s not just people who have this privilege of getting an undergraduate or graduate degree, but young people who come in and feel so strongly about this.”