Recent college graduates in the US have expressed their displeasure at commencement speakers who promote artificial intelligence, viewing the technology as a threat to their career prospects. At Middle Tennessee State University, students booed Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, after he told them to 'deal with' AI's transformative impact on the music industry. Jacob Pagel, a graduate in political science and human development, described the remarks as 'a knife to the chest'.
Borchetta's speech is one of several this spring that have highlighted a disconnect between executives championing AI and students. At the University of Central Florida and the University of Arizona, graduates also booed speakers who compared AI to the Industrial Revolution. A 2025 Harvard poll found that a majority of young Americans see AI as a threat to their job prospects.
Sarah Kreps, a Cornell professor, said tech executives are 'not reading the room', noting that students have spent significant sums on degrees they fear may not serve them well. A national NBC News poll found only 26% of registered voters view AI positively, with 46% viewing it negatively—worse than ICE, Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris.
Pagel is considering a career in child healthcare or politics, fields he believes require human interaction. He uses Grammarly but insists 'no computer can take' the role of face-to-face engagement. MTSU stated it 'understands and remains compassionate about our students’ concerns'. Parry Headrick of Crackle PR called such speeches a 'preventable PR disaster', advising executives to acknowledge student anxieties rather than telling them to 'buckle up'.
