In partnership with
It’s graduation commencement season, and two speakers were recently booed for praising artificial intelligence, in a striking sign that public sentiment around AI is shifting fast. The reaction has touched a nerve, with polling showing collapsing confidence among under-34s.
On 8 May, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed at the University of Central Florida for calling AI "the next industrial revolution." A week later on 15 May, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced sustained jeers at the University of Arizona when he told graduates they would help shape AI. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang got a warmer welcome at Carnegie Mellon a week earlier, suggesting the audience matters as much as the message.
What went down
Caulfield's UCF speech to arts graduates was met with loud, sustained booing.
Schmidt was booed throughout his Arizona address, especially on AI and data centres.
Schmidt told students: "When someone offers you a seat on a rocket ship, you just get on."
Huang told Carnegie Mellon engineering grads AI had "reinvented computing" to cheers.
An NBC poll found 46% of US voters view AI negatively, with only 26% positive.
Partner Message
Your prompts are leaving out 80% of what you're thinking.
When you type a prompt, you summarize. When you speak one, you explain. Wispr Flow captures your full reasoning — constraints, edge cases, examples, tone — and turns it into clean, structured text you paste into ChatGPT, Claude, or any AI tool. The difference shows up immediately. More context in, fewer follow-ups out.
89% of messages sent with zero edits. Used by teams at OpenAI, Vercel, and Clay. Try Wispr Flow free — works on Mac, Windows, and iPhone.
Why does this matter?
Net favourability of AI among voters aged 18 to 34 sits at minus 44, and Gallup found 31% of Gen Z now feels outright anger toward AI, up from 22% last year. These graduates are entering a job market where companies have already cut headcount and named AI as a substitute for entry-level roles in creative fields, software and finance.
The contrast between Schmidt's and Huang's receptions appears to be art vs science. Engineering students at Carnegie Mellon see themselves as builders of the technology. Arts, humanities and media graduates at UCF and Arizona increasingly see themselves on the wrong side of the trade. The opposition is becoming coordinated, with Arizona students gathering 1,260 signatures on a petition before Schmidt arrived.
Our take
The industry has spent three years selling AI to consumers as a productivity miracle while also selling it to enterprises as a labour replacement. Graduates have noticed the contradiction. They were told to study, build skills and earn degrees, and are now being told by the executives building the replacement technology that their job is to "get on the rocket ship." But entry-level work is being disrupted and job prospects are drying up.
But it’s also indicative of an increasing chasm between generations and a general intolerance of people who don’t share the same views. Booing is part of a pattern of protest and no platforming for apparently controversial speakers on campuses. Author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathon Haidt, was booed at NYU while delivering his commencement address. Prospective employers are increasingly concerned by these attitudes.
Another big thing…Musk v. Altman heads to the jury
The first phase of Elon Musk's lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI ends today, with the nine-person jury beginning deliberations in Oakland after closing arguments wrapped on 14 May. The verdict will be advisory, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers making the final call on liability.
Phase two, the remedies hearing, also starts today. Musk wants the 2025 recapitalisation into a public benefit corporation unwound, Altman and Brockman removed, and up to $134 billion in damages redirected to OpenAI's nonprofit. A ruling against OpenAI would complicate its march toward a near-trillion-dollar IPO.
