Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements
College graduates are increasingly booing commencement speakers who frame AI as an exciting inevitability, reflecting deep anxiety that automation will erase entry-level jobs just as they enter the workforce. Commenters argue that while past technological revolutions eventually raised living standards, recent productivity gains have largely enriched executives and shareholders, leaving most people with stagnating wages and rising costs. Many see the AI optimism of tech leaders and university administrators as tone-deaf or self-serving, and warn that without structural changes to how gains are shared, public resentment toward AI and its beneficiaries will continue to grow.
Job Market and Entry-Level Crisis
- Many describe the market for new grads and even mid-career engineers as “cooked”: few junior roles, many senior-only postings, heavy competition, fake or stale listings.
- Interns and co-op students often capture the remaining entry-level spots; others rely on personal connections.
- Experienced workers are reportedly “down-leveling” into junior roles out of desperation, further squeezing graduates.
Commencement Speeches and Tone-Deaf Messaging
- Graduates booed AI-focused speeches they saw as ads for big tech rather than celebrations of their achievement.
- Speakers framed AI as inevitable “democratization” and urged students to “shape” the future; commenters argue most people have no real influence on corporate AI strategy.
- Many see universities and administrators as out of touch for platforming AI evangelism at a moment of visible job anxiety.
AI, Automation, and Employment Futures
- Strong fear that AI will automate not just manual labor but the core “thinking” work that makes humans economically valuable.
- Some argue previous automation waves ultimately raised living standards; critics respond that this time targets intelligence, and gains now accrue mostly to capital, not labor.
- There is skepticism that “new jobs” will appear fast enough or at comparable quality.
Capitalism, Inequality, and Who Benefits
- Repeated claim: AI mainly benefits the top 0.1–10% and shareholders; ordinary workers get layoffs, precarity, and surveillance.
- Productivity gains are seen as decoupled from wages and work-time reductions; promises of shorter workweeks are viewed as broken.
- Some argue the problem is systemic (capitalism, regulatory capture), not “technology” itself.
Public Power, Politics, and Potential Backlash
- Many feel “average people” have little day-to-day power over AI deployment; elections are cited as one of the few levers.
- Several foresee or accept the possibility of unrest or even revolution if mass displacement proceeds without redistribution.
Education, Cheating, and Skills
- This graduating cohort is the first to go through college with widespread LLM use; many know firsthand how capable these tools are for entry-level tasks.
- Tension between being punished for AI use as students and being told to embrace it as workers is a major source of resentment.