Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and private equity managerial Gloria Caulfield, addressing graduates, both got booed recently as they talked up AI. You'd think commencement speakers would get the memo. But Scott Borchetta did not get the memo before speaking at Middle Tennessee State University. More hoopla about AI, more hollering from the audience—and a smirking snap back from the Nashville music executive, who is perhaps not well-suited to the job of inspiring young people.
Deal with it. You can hear me now or you can pay me later.
He then told the students that what they learned there is "already obsolete," which surely made MTSU's administrators and instructors as happy as the spring class of 2026.
Both sides of the AI hype coin ("AI is the revolution!" and "suck it up") place the same value on human creativity: a cog in the content machine. Is there a commencement speech consultancy these people all use that hasn't updated the boilerplate? NPR offers a tip: "don't talk about AI."
Gill, the recent AU graduate, who said her generation's concerns about AI go far beyond getting their first jobs. "How they're making billionaires richer and depleting our environment has really opened our eyes to the ripple effects of AI," she said. Indeed, Quinnipiac's poll found only 5% of Americans feel AI development is being led by people or organizations that represent their interests.
You can talk about it, though, as demonstrated recently by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, speaking at Grand Valley State University. You just have to not echo these platitudes of awe and inevitability.
Wozniak offered reassurance to new graduates who are entering the workforce at the height of the AI revolution.
"You have AI — actual intelligence," Wozniak said.
The remark garnered laughs and applause from the audience.
