- Kevin O'Leary said students protesting Israel's war on Gaza could be ruining their career prospects.
- The “Shark Tank” host said employers could use AI to identify applicants who participated in protests.
- “I can't believe what I found on the background check now. These people are messed up,” he said.
“Shark Tank” host and investor Kevin O'Leary said pro-Palestinian student protesters would be “fucked up” once they started job hunting.
O'Leary said this is because employers can now use artificial intelligence to screen applicants and filter out those who have taken part in protests. Advances in technology have made it much easier to identify people on camera, the businessman says.
“Here's your resume with a photo of you burning a flag. Look at it. It's on this pile. Because in this pile that's not burning anything, there's the same talent. ,” O'Leary said on Fox News. ”Five” on wednesday.
“There are a lot of implications for all those people. Even in an image that far away, AI can generate who that person is by their body movements. Now, with background checks, “I can't believe what I found. These people are terrible,” he said.
O'Leary said in an interview with CNN on the same day that even if protesters try to hide their identities by wearing masks, they could still be identified through retinal scans.
“This is what's happening with AI. So if you're burning something, taking down flags, fighting the police, I'm sorry, but you're hurting your personal brand. O'Leary told CNN's Laura Coates.
Representatives for Mr. O'Leary did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment outside of normal business hours.
O'Leary is not the only business executive to speak out against the pro-Palestinian student protests that have taken place on various campuses, including Columbia University and UCLA.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said. CNBC In an interview last month, the oil giant said it had “no interest” in recruiting students from universities caught up in pro-Palestinian protests.
“Harassment, intimidation, frankly, I don't think there's any room for that at those universities, and certainly there's no room for that at a company like ExxonMobil,” Woods told the magazine. “If that action or protest reflects the values of the campuses that are doing it, we would not be interested in recruiting students from those campuses,” he added. .
Comments like those made by O'Leary and Woods suggest that students may be harming their own careers through political activity.
Law firm Winston & Strawn said in October: A job offer to a New York University law student was rescinded. He publicly accused Israel of terrorist attacks by Hamas. The announcement was made on October 10, just three days after Hamas attacked Israel.
