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With so much professional change and upheaval ahead of the Northeastern class of 2023, President Joseph E. Aoun reminded thousands of graduates at Sunday’s commencement ceremony that their Northeastern education was a success. We have ensured that we are ready to face these changes head-on.
“As you leave this ceremony today, your journey will be defined by career mobility,” said Aoun. “Geographic mobility. Global mobility.”
Part of Aoun’s graduation message was just that mobility, the ability to work, study and make connections across borders and continents. “Opportunity is always in motion.” experience on average.
In keeping with tradition, Sunday’s graduation ceremony was held at Boston’s historic Fenway Park, where thousands of alumni and their guests gathered on a picturesque spring afternoon.
Richard A. D’Amore, Chairman of the Northeastern Board of Trustees and patron of the D’Amore McKim School of Business, introduced Aoun.
Aoun awarded three honorary degrees after his remarks. John S. and Alberto, president of the James L. Knight Foundation and former publisher of the Miami Herald, he was awarded to Ibarguen. Alondra Nelson, former Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. His e-commerce pioneer, Mariam Naficy, gave a commencement speech.
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland also spoke with the graduate students earlier in the day and was awarded an honorary degree.
Before his speech, a video made in the style of TikTok’s “Get ready with me” trend aired Aoun getting ready for the afternoon.
There was also another kind of change in the background of this year’s ceremony. In other words, it is a drastic change brought about by the development of artificial intelligence. Some of these changes will almost certainly cause major disruption to the job market and the way work is done, Aoun said.
Among the many topics of AI development, ChatGPT was right at the start.
“In preparation for today’s speech, I decided to ask ChatGPT for their top five graduation speech clichés of all time,” said Aoun.
Chatbots have spawned a set of cliches that stand out at graduation ceremonies, such as “believe in yourself,” “follow your dreams,” and other “over-used phrases that come up again and again.”
Given the dizzying and potentially far-reaching developments in AI in recent months, Aoun said that as this year’s graduates move on to the next chapter, the need for what he called “human literacy” will grow. emphasized that it is even more important. He said the march of technological progress will lead to the automation of most industries “including jobs that were previously the domain of college graduates.”
“Machines and artificial intelligence continue to advance day by day,” said Aoun. “These innovations will have a huge impact on all of us. There are people calling out to society.”
Aoun continues: Help a lost person at a train station. Capturing emotions through color and music. Start a non-profit organization to end hunger. Confront strangers to fight injustice. ”
As any current and former student knows, the teaching experience at Northeastern University is unique in the sense that students are encouraged to make the world their classroom. This is the spirit associated with Northeastern University’s world-leading collaborative programs.
“Your time in Northeastern no I was trapped on campus,” Aoun said. “You had co-ops and dialogues and global experiences that made roaming possible. These experiences empowered you to live and learn in different situations and different countries.”
Returning to AI, Aoun stressed that humans will always have an edge over machines in fear of the trajectory of emerging technologies.
“But for the time being, computational power cannot express empathy,” Aoun said. “Microprocessors can’t comfort the suffering. Algorithms can’t ease the pain of systemic racism.”
To get alumni to think beyond the social media bubble, Aoun had one final piece of advice.
“Social media algorithms create echo chambers of like-minded people,” he said. “They harden our views and force us to take extreme positions.”
“They can even lead us to demonize those who disagree with us, creating a new ‘digital tribalism’ reinforced by information silos,” he said.
With that, Aoun sent the young graduates off for the afternoon.
“So change your human literacy every day,” he said. “In your life, in your work. This is your strength.”
“At the end of the day, the machine doesn’t dream of lifting trophies,” said Aoun. “They don’t rethink the world. They don’t cry.”
Tanner Stening is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Send an email to t.stening@northeastern.edu. follow him on twitter @tstening90.
