Eric Schmidt speech about AI booed during graduation
前 Google 首席执行官 Eric Schmidt 在 2026 年 5 月 17 日于 University of Arizona 的毕业典礼上谈及人工智能时多次被嘘。 Eric Schmidt 曾执掌 Google 长达十年，他开场回顾了计算机带来的深刻变革，追溯它从 1982 年被 Time 评为"年度人物"到如今笔记本电脑和智能手机的发展。他承认，尽管计算机把人们连在一起、让知识更普及、帮助许多人摆脱贫困，但它们也带来了负面影响——削弱了公共话语、放大了社会最坏的本能。
当 Eric Schmidt 把人工智能比作与计算机同样具有变革力的存在时，现场立刻并持续响起嘘声。他对观众的反应作出回应，承认毕业生们担心未来已被写定、担心机器会抢走工作、担心气候正在恶化，以及他们要继承一个并非自己造成的烂摊子。尽管遭遇敌意，Eric Schmidt 仍坚持认为未来尚未写成，2026 届的毕业生有真正的能力来塑造人工智能的发展方向。
他敦促毕业生拥抱自由、开展公开辩论、追求平等，并与持不同意见的人沟通。他还主张采纳多元观点，包括那些历来促进美国发展的移民视角，警告不要让美国失去对全球有抱负者的吸引力。最后，他向毕业生们表示祝贺，并告诉他们，未来还未定稿，现在轮到他们去塑造它。
University of Arizona 为邀请 Eric Schmidt 作辩护，发言人 Mitch Zak 称赞他在技术、创新和科学进步方面的卓越领导与全球贡献。 Zak 指出，Eric Schmidt 助力 Google 崛起为全球最具影响力的科技公司之一，并继续通过慈善与科研项目推动研究，包括与该校的合作。
Eric Schmidt 的遭遇并非孤立。 2026 年 5 月初，房地产高管 Gloria Caulfield 在 University of Central Florida 的毕业典礼上因提到人工智能同样被嘘，当时她告诉观众，人工智能的崛起是下一次工业革命。这些事件反映出更广泛的一代人对人工智能对就业、社会与未来影响的焦虑，毕业生们对那些将人工智能描绘为不可避免且积极变革的科技领袖抱有怀疑与恐惧。
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed multiple times during his commencement speech at the University of Arizona on May 17, 2026, as he discussed artificial intelligence. Schmidt, who led Google for a decade, began by reflecting on the transformative impact of the computer, tracing its evolution from a device named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in 1982 to the laptops and smartphones of today. He acknowledged that while computers connected people, democratized knowledge, and lifted many out of poverty, they also carried negative consequences, degrading public discourse and amplifying society's worst instincts.
When Schmidt drew a parallel between AI and the computer's transformative power, the audience responded with immediate and sustained boos. He acknowledged the crowd's reaction, recognizing the fear among graduates that the future has already been written, that machines are coming for jobs, that the climate is breaking, and that they are inheriting a mess they did not create. Despite the hostile reception, Schmidt pressed on, arguing that the future remains unwritten and that the class of 2026 has real power to shape how AI develops.
Schmidt urged graduates to embrace freedom, open debate, equality, and engagement with those they disagree with. He also called for choosing a diversity of perspectives, including those of immigrants who have historically made America better, warning against losing the country's appeal to ambitious people worldwide. He closed by congratulating the class and telling them the future is not yet finished, that it is now their turn to shape it.
The University of Arizona defended its invitation to Schmidt, with spokesperson Mitch Zak citing his extraordinary leadership and global contributions in technology, innovation, and scientific advancement. Zak noted that Schmidt helped lead Google's rise into one of the world's most influential technology companies and continues to advance research through philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including partnerships supporting work at the university.
Schmidt's reception was not an isolated incident. Earlier in May 2026, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was similarly booed at a commencement speech at the University of Central Florida after mentioning AI, telling the crowd that the rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution. These incidents reflect a broader generational anxiety about AI's impact on employment, society, and the future, with graduates expressing skepticism and fear toward tech leaders who frame AI as an inevitable and positive transformation.
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Schmidt 试图把支持 AI 与亲移民立场捆绑在一起，这被普遍视为拙劣的修辞手法——制造虚假的等号，通过把反对者与仇外情绪挂钩来羞辱他们。许多人认为这是对年轻毕业生价值观的精心算计，仿佛提到"移民"就能自动博取支持，但听众看穿了这种操控并予以拒绝。
嘘声被视为对 Schmidt 所标榜"自由"的行使，凸显出一种双重标准：精英们只有在符合自身利益时才援引"自由"和"公开辩论"。科技高管与普通公众之间存在巨大脱节——高管们以抽象的语言谈论 AI 的变革潜力，而多数非科技人士要么在不理解的情况下被动使用 AI，要么对其对生计的影响充满担忧。尽管采用率很高，但使用并不等于认可，像社交媒体一样，人们往往因为绩效指标或同侪竞争压力而使用 AI，而非出于喜爱。
对 AI 所谓"乐观"前景的信任正在瓦解：承诺的乌托邦听上去像是让底层长期依赖 UBI 生活，而亿万富翁则囤积自动化带来的收益。 Schmidt 的演讲被批为脱离现实，忽视了目前技术进步更多是被用来以更低成本榨取更多劳动，而不是把人们从工作中解放出来。对 AI 的抵制根源于一种信念：企业正利用这些工具裁员降本，CEO 们甚至公开庆祝裁员。越来越多人认为科技精英脱离实际，凭借自己的平台决定工作的未来，同时把自己与这些技术带来的负面后果隔离开来。
讨论反映出对晚期资本主义的广泛不满：创新收益被私有化，而风险和成本却转嫁给年轻一代。整体上，人们对科技精英处理 AI 革命的挫败感加深，表现为进步话语与经济位移现实之间的虚伪矛盾。尽管有人主张拥抱 AI 作为变革工具，但主流情绪是怀疑与愤怒，由对失业的恐惧和对亿万富翁权力集中的不满驱动。对 Eric Schmidt 的嘘声并非对技术本身的否定，而是对那些被视为将利润置于人类福祉之上的代言人的否定。最终，这场对话凸显了塑造 AI 未来的人与必须承受其后果的人之间日益扩大的鸿沟。 • Schmidt's attempt to link AI acceptance to pro-immigration sentiment was widely perceived as a clumsy rhetorical trick, creating a false equivalence between immigrants and AI to shame dissenters by associating them with xenophobia.
• Many interpreted the comment as a calculated appeal to young graduates' values, assuming that invoking "immigrant" would automatically garner support, but the audience saw through the manipulation and rejected it.
• The booing was seen as an exercise of the very freedom Schmidt was preaching, highlighting a double standard where elites invoke "freedom" and "open debate" only when it aligns with their own interests.
• There is a significant disconnect between tech executives and the general public; while execs speak abstractly about AI's transformative potential, many non-tech people either consume AI passively without understanding it or actively fear its impact on their livelihoods.
• Despite high adoption rates, usage does not equal approval, much like social media; people often use AI tools because they are pressured by performance metrics or peer competition, not because they like them.
• The "optimistic" case for AI is viewed with deep skepticism, as the promised utopia often sounds like a scenario where a permanent underclass survives on UBI while billionaires hoard the benefits of automation.
• Schmidt's speech felt tone-deaf because it ignored the reality that current technological advancements are primarily used to extract more labor for less pay, rather than freeing people from work.
• The backlash against AI is rooted in the belief that these tools are being deployed by corporations to eliminate jobs and cut costs, with CEOs openly celebrating the reduction of the workforce.
• There is a growing sentiment that the tech elite are out of touch, using their platforms to dictate the future of work while insulating themselves from the negative consequences of the technologies they promote.
• The discussion reveals a broader frustration with late-stage capitalism, where the benefits of innovation are privatized while the risks and costs are socialized onto the younger generation.
The discussion reflects a deep-seated frustration with the tech elite's handling of the AI revolution, characterized by a perceived hypocrisy between their rhetoric of progress and the reality of economic displacement. While some argue that AI is a transformative tool that should be embraced, the prevailing sentiment is one of skepticism and anger, fueled by fears of job loss and the consolidation of power among billionaires. The booing of Eric Schmidt is seen not as a rejection of technology itself, but as a rejection of the messengers who are viewed as prioritizing profit over human welfare. Ultimately, the conversation highlights a growing divide between those who shape the future of AI and those who must live with its consequences.