College graduates have started booing AI-peddling commencement speakers, and the software king of the world Microsoft, says it understands why
Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith used a blog post of more than 3,100 words to address the recent outbreak of anti-AI heckling at graduation ceremonies.
The clips have gone viral, including former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt getting an earful at the University of Arizona. Another speaker in Florida looked startled when students booed the idea that AI was “the next industrial revolution.”
The videos point to a wider mood around AI. The technology is deeply unpopular, even as tech outfits ram it into everything without asking. Young people use AI, but many feel grim about it. The fightback against vast data centres is becoming a political issue rather than a niche complaint.
There is a sense that these clips are a rare public release of how detached executives and technocrats have become.
Smith took a soft tone, saying that the students’ reaction was understandable.
“Graduating students who grimace or even boo at references to AI are telling us what we need to hear: that it’s time once again to raise the bar. That has been a frequent refrain from students for decades. The key is always to channel uncertainty into purposeful steps that build a better future.”
The problem is that Smith’s post still follows the same line that helped earn the boos in the first place. He argues that AI will reshape culture, labour and relationships in ways people may not yet understand.
That may be true, but graduates hearing it from rich tech grandees can be forgiven for thinking the sales pitch sounds a bit knackered. Vole has been one of the loudest AI pushers, so a gentle note about listening to the kids sounds a bit awkward.
The post seems aimed as much at other executives as at graduates, telling the tech sector that the next generation is not simply going to clap for automation. Smith’s central message is that uncertainty should be turned into useful action. Students appear to be saying they have heard enough useful action from people who will not be automated first.
