Graduating Students Boo AI at Commencement Ceremonies

Glendale Community College president Tiffany Hernandez apologized for the mistakes and eventually offered many students a do-over. | Screenshot: YouTube The use of AI-powered tools to announce students as they walk on stage during graduation and commencement ceremonies has grown in popularity over the past few years, but it's not always succeeding at the one job it's there for. Many schools have switched to these systems as a way to ensure names are being pronounced correctly, but during a recent livestream of a Glendale Community College commencement ceremony in Phoenix, Arizona, the AI announcer mispronounced some names and skipped others entirely as a result of timing issues as graduates walked across the stage. The ceremony was paused at least twice in an attempt to fix the issues, whi … Read the full story at The Verge.

Pew research shows Americans are more worried than excited about AI as graduates voiced fears over jobs A former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, was met with students’ boos at a university commencement address in Arizona on Sunday when he raised the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and its effects. Schmidt – who led the tech giant for more than a decade, acquiring a multi-billion dollar fortune in the process – was speaking to as many as 10,000 graduating University of Arizona students when he addressed the impact of modern technology on society. Continue reading...

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered the commencement address at the University of Arizona on Friday. And, as his speech veered into talk of AI, he was repeatedly drowned out by boos. AI is already a contentious topic, and it's not surprising that those about to enter a ravaged job market feel particularly negative about it. Schmidt acknowledged the anxiety, according to Business Insider, saying fears "that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create," were "rational." But Schmidt's frustration was also palpa … Read the full story at The Verge.

Humanities students made their displeasure known at the University of Central Florida.

Students at the University of Central Florida booed a commencement speaker after she said, “artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.”

Real estate executive got an unexpected earful when she spoke of ‘living in a time of profound change’ Though college graduations usually consist of a speaker giving advice to students, one recent ceremony featured students giving the speaker their opinions – loudly. The University of Central Florida’s 2026 graduating class booed as a real estate development executive spoke about how “the rise of artificial intelligence is the next Industrial Revolution” and about “living in a time of profound change”. Continue reading...