Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed during graduation speech about AI
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed repeatedly Sunday as he discussed artificial intelligence during a commencement speech at the University of Arizona.
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Schmidt, who led Google for a decade, began his speech by reflecting on his own student days and the rise of the computer, a device named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 1982. He traced its evolution to the laptop and smartphone and its proliferation across the Internet and social media.
While the computer has connected people, “democratized knowledge” and lifted many people out of poverty, it also has a darker side, Schmidt said.
“The same platforms that gave everyone the opportunity to express themselves, like the ones you use now, have also degraded the public square,” he said. “They have rewarded outrage. They have amplified our worst instincts. They have magnified the way we talk to each other, and that way, and the way we treat each other, is in the essence of a society.”
Schmidt then drew a parallel between artificial intelligence and the transformative impact of computers – and was immediately booed.
“I know how a lot of you feel about this. I can hear you,” Schmidt said, addressing the crowd as many continued to boo him. “There is a fear… there is a fear in your generation that the future is already written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs will evaporate, that the climate will deteriorate, that politics will be fractured, and that you will inherit a mess that you did not create, and I understand that fear.”
He went on to argue that the future was unwritten and that the Class of 2026 had real power to shape the development of AI – a claim that drew disapproval from some of the public.
Schmidt urged graduates to embrace freedom, open debate, equality and a willingness to engage with those with whom they disagree.
“If you’ll allow me to make this point, please…” Schmidt said amid boos. “What I would like to emphasize is choosing a diversity of perspectives, including the perspective of the immigrant who has so often been the person who came to this country and made it better. America is at its best when we are the country where ambitious people want to come. Let’s not lose that.”
He finished by congratulating the class and offering them closing words. “The future is not over yet. It is now up to you to shape it.”
University of Arizona spokesman Mitch Zak said Schmidt was invited to deliver the commencement address because of his “extraordinary leadership and global contributions to technology, innovation and scientific advancement.”
“He helped build Google into one of the most influential technology companies in the world and continues to advance research and discovery through important philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including partnerships that support important work at the University of Arizona,” Zak added.
Schmidt’s reception was not an isolated incident. Earlier this month, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was also booed during a commencement speech at the University of Central Florida after mentioning the controversial technology. “The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution,” she said as the crowd erupted in boos.
