What's with all the videos of college graduates booing AI?

Videos of US graduates rejecting AI have been shared widely across social media. (Reuters: Patrick T. Fallon) Link copiedShareShare articleIt's graduation season for universities across the US, and this year an unexpected viral trend has emerged: graduates booing artificial intelligence (AI). AI isn't a new concept, but as its presence in our daily lives intensifies, so too does opposition to it. And it seems that opposition is exceedingly vocal among new graduates grappling with how the technology will impact their ability to get a job. Here's a look at just a few of the instances of graduates rejecting AI that are circulating on social media at the moment. One of the earliest examples of this trend came out of the University of Central Florida, when real estate executive Gloria Caulfield gave a speech at a ceremony for arts and humanities graduates. Midway through her speech, she mentioned the "profound change" that AI was creating. "The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution," she said. She was met with a chorus of boos and jeers, before continuing on. "Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives," she said. A snippet of her speech was clipped from the YouTube video of the ceremony and shared widely across social media. Another example came a week later, when former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt spoke at a University of Arizona graduation ceremony. The crowd was heckling throughout much of Dr Schmidt's speech, becoming more raucous when he mentioned Time Magazine selecting the "Architects of AI" as its person of the year for 2025. This was met with a chorus of discontent so loud, he paused his speech. "It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have," Dr Schmidt said. Another outburst from the crowd came after he spoke about how ubiquitous AI would be. With a smile on his face, Dr Schmidt waited as the crowd jeered before moving on. Then came the glitch from a ceremony for graduates at Glendale Community College in Arizona. The ceremony was last week, but a snippet from the ceremony went viral in recent days, with just one version attracting more than 9 million views on X. Local broadcaster Arizona's Family reported that the names of graduates were supposed to appear on the live stream screen, but they didn't match those walking up to the stage. At one point, the names stopped appearing altogether, with a generic message saying "Congratulations Graduate!" appearing instead. The news station spoke to student Grace Riemer, who said her name wasn't called out to the crowd when she was on stage. Instead, she says it was called out several minutes later. After a long pause in proceedings, the college's president Tiffany Hernandez addressed the crowd. "We're using a new AI system as our reader," Dr Hernandez said, prompting an outburst from the crowd. She explained that graduates who had already walked up on stage would not be able to do so again with their correct names being read out. While this was happening, dozens of graduates were standing, waiting to be called on stage. After a few minutes and sustained jeers from the crowd, Dr Hernandez said those who hadn't walked on stage would be able to do so with a human calling out their names. They were instructed to tell their names to person waiting at the stairs to the stage, who would then announce their name into a microphone. By this point, some graduates and their supporters were already walking out of the ceremony, AZ Central reports. However, many graduates did take up the offer to appear on stage after being introduced by a human. The ABC has contacted Dr Hernandez for comment. "I don't think these videos going viral necessarily reflect a blanket rejection of AI from the wider public or from university students overall," Xueyin Zha, from the Australian National University's Integrated AI Network, says. Instead, Ms Xueyin reckons it speaks to anxieties around how AI is being integrated into higher education. "I think it speaks to a broader frustration among students who are currently being told that AI will transform every field, while they themselves are still struggling with unclear institutional guidance around what learning, thinking and academic integrity even mean in the age of AI," she says. Many comments on social media point out the contradiction between students being banned from using AI while being lectured about its benefits. But what about people who aren't in the university sector? "I think many young people are feeling AI fatigue at the moment," Sarah Keith, a senior lecturer in media at Macquarie University, says. "AI is so ubiquitous in platforms, software and services, that it is impossible to avoid." Dr Keith says this proliferation of AI-produced content online is leading more people to be more critical of it. "I think there is also public scepticism about whether AI actu

What's with all the videos of college graduates booing AI?

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