Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by University of Arizona graduates in May 2026 when his commencement speech turned to artificial intelligence. Reports describe jeers that grew each time he raised AI, in front of a crowd of roughly 10,000. The reaction is a useful snapshot of how some young people feel about AI and jobs, though a single ceremony is not a poll.
What was reported
According to KTAR, Schmidt told graduates that AI will affect every profession, classroom and relationship. He said he understood young people’s fear that machines are taking jobs and argued that graduates can help shape how the technology develops. Graduates booed repeatedly, and he responded that he could hear them. KTAR reports that students called the speech tone-deaf and self-serving, and that some also objected to his appearance in released Epstein files, which the article notes does not itself imply wrongdoing.
Outlets differ on the exact day of the ceremony; most place it in the May 15 to 17 window. KTAR’s report did not include a statement from the University of Arizona, and we found none in other coverage either.
Why the reaction matters
- Jobs are the sore point. Graduates in the audience said, in the reported reactions, that they saw AI as a threat to their jobs. Our own look at enterprise AI adoption covers how quickly companies are scaling it.
- Messenger matters. KTAR reports students called the speech self-serving, suggesting some heard a promotional message rather than a neutral one.
- Trust in the industry is uneven. Disputes between AI firms and governments, such as those in our report on US restrictions on Anthropic models, add to a sense that the rules are unsettled.
What is not established
Reports do not give a count of how many of the graduates booed, and crowd noise at a large stadium event is hard to measure. Several write-ups describe the sound as sustained rather than universal. Treat claims of a “majority” turning on him as unconfirmed.
Corrections to an earlier version
An earlier version described Schmidt as struggling to articulate his points, cited a “30% of tasks by 2030” statistic without a source, and described the event as a “tech summit”. The event was a university commencement, and the unsourced claims have been removed.
Sources
- KTAR: Graduates boo Eric Schmidt’s commencement AI speech
- Android Central: Eric Schmidt booed after AI remarks at the University of Arizona
- Boing Boing: Eric Schmidt gets booed at University of Arizona commencement
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