College students drown out AI-praising commencement speeches with boos

Context and overall reaction

• Commenters see repeated booing of AI‑praising commencement speeches as a visible youth backlash against how AI is being sold.
• The phrase “the kids are alright” recurs, meaning the younger generation’s instincts might be healthy despite older complaints about “kids these days.”

Student anger and job‑market anxiety

• Many grads feel betrayed: told for years that college → good jobs, now graduating into layoffs, hiring freezes, high debt, and AI hype.
• AI is perceived as directly or indirectly shrinking entry‑level roles, especially for junior engineers and creatives.
• Some argue layoffs are really from “pandemic overhiring” and capital reallocation to AI infra, but others see that as an increasingly thin cover story.

AI as tool vs labor replacement

• One camp: AI is “just a tool” like past tech shifts; skills remain useful, and workers must adapt.
• Counter‑camp: AI is explicitly marketed by executives as a way to cut headcount; the purpose and incentive structure matter more than the abstract tech.
• Analogies used: crop harvesters replacing farmhands, sewing machines, cotton gins; emphasis that who controls the tool decides who benefits.

Capitalism, shareholders, and distribution of gains

• Strong skepticism that “shareholder value” or trickle‑down will benefit grads; most gains expected to accrue to capital, not labor.
• Retirement funds and older asset holders are seen as aligned with executives pushing AI to reduce labor costs, deepening generational inequality.

Arts, music, and cultural impact

• Artists and musicians are depicted as especially hostile: AI is seen as “content slop” that devalues craft and floods channels.
• Some non‑musicians like being able to generate “good enough” personalized songs; others fear trust in new music and livelihoods will erode.

Commencement speeches and tone‑deafness

• Many think commencement should celebrate and inspire, not pitch AI or enumerate crises.
• Praising AI as an inevitable “rocket ship” to success, or telling students to “deal with it,” is widely viewed as condescending and oblivious to their precarity.

Generational and political dynamics

• Younger commenters describe rising hopelessness, anger at “ladder‑pulling” older generations, and growing openness to extreme views.
• Some see anti‑AI sentiment as a rational class response; others worry enemies of the U.S. could exploit youth anti‑AI attitudes.

Pro‑AI and pragmatic views

• A minority argues AI will increase productivity and prosperity long‑term; resistance only hurts those who refuse to learn it.
• Small business owners and some professionals report real productivity gains from AI assistants and coding tools.
• Others call for coupling AI adoption with strong social supports (e.g., basic income, regulation against AI‑justified layoffs).

Use vs rejection of AI

• Several note a possible tension: students may rely on AI for homework while denouncing it at ceremonies.
• Responses say this isn’t hypocrisy: people can resent a tool they feel coerced into using in a rigged system.

Eric Schmidt–specific issues

• Beyond AI, some grads and commenters object to Schmidt personally: past wage‑suppression scandals and reported sexual assault allegations.
• Local reporting (linked in the thread) notes organized efforts to disinvite him and to encourage booing before he spoke, so motivations are mixed (AI + personal/ethical concerns).