Students boo AI at commencement ceremonies

May 19, 2026

Young people are turning sharply against AI, which is bad news for tech leaders pushing fast development but reflects real fear about jobs.

  • Graduates booed Google's Eric Schmidt and other speakers who praised AI at commencement speeches.
  • Polls show 70% of Americans think AI is moving too fast and only 18% of young people feel hopeful about it.
  • Companies are not doing mass layoffs but are quietly refusing to hire new graduates because AI can do the work cheaper.
  • Billionaire Ken Griffin said AI now does work in hours that used to take PhDs weeks, including high-skill finance jobs.
  • A federal court threw out Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI over its shift from nonprofit to for-profit, but only because it was filed too late.

Outlook: The job market for new graduates will keep getting worse as companies lean harder on AI, and public anger at tech leaders will likely grow.

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