Colleges across the United States are celebrating graduation season, and this year an unexpected viral trend has emerged: graduates booing artificial intelligence (AI).
AI is not a new concept, but as its presence in our daily lives increases, so does opposition to it.
And there seems to be a lot of pushback among recent graduates who are worried about how technology will affect their ability to get a job.
Take a look at just some of the examples of graduates rejecting AI that are currently circulating on social media.
“The next industrial revolution”
One of the earliest examples of this trend was University of Central Floridawhen Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield I gave a speech at the graduation ceremony for liberal arts and humanities graduates.
During her speech, she mentioned the “profound changes” that AI is creating.
“The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution,” she said.
She was met with a chorus of boos and jeers before continuing to speak.
“Just a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives,” she said.
This was met with cheers.
A snippet of her speech was cut from a YouTube video of the ceremony and shared widely on social media.
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A generation’s “rational fear”
Another example occurred a week later. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt I spoke at University of Arizona Graduation ceremony.
The crowd jeered throughout much of Dr. Schmidt’s speech, and got even louder when he mentioned that Time magazine had chosen the “architect of AI” as its 2025 Person of the Year.
This caused a chorus of dissatisfaction, and he interrupted his speech.
“It’s going to impact every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every lab, every person, every relationship,” Dr. Schmidt said.
After he talked about how ubiquitous AI will become, there was another outburst from the crowd.
Dr. Schmidt smiled and waited for the crowd to jeer before moving on.
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“Lessons learned”
Then, a glitch occurred at the university’s graduation ceremony. Glendale Community College in Arizona.
The ceremony took place last week, but excerpts have gone viral in recent days, with just one version racking up more than 9 million views on X.
Local broadcaster Arizona’s Family reported that the graduates’ names were supposed to appear on the livestream screen, but they did not match the names of the graduates taking the stage.
At one point, my name stopped showing up at all, and I got a generic message that said, “Congratulations on your graduation!” appeared instead.
The news station spoke with student Grace Riemer, who said her name was not called by the crowd when she took the stage.
Instead, she says she was called a few minutes later.
After a long interruption in proceedings, University President Tiffany Hernandez addressed the crowd.
“We are using a new AI system as a leader,” Dr. Hernandez said, prompting a backlash from the crowd.
“That’s a lesson learned for us.”
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She explained that graduates who have already taken the stage will not be able to take the stage again once their correct name is read out.
While this was happening, dozens of graduates were standing and waiting to be called to the stage.
After several minutes and continued jeers from the crowd, Dr. Hernandez said that those who were not on stage would be able to do so if a human called their name.
They were instructed to tell their name to a person waiting on the steps leading up to the stage, who then announced their name into the microphone.
By this point, some graduates and their supporters had already left the ceremony, Arizona Central reported.
However, many graduates received offers to perform through human referrals.
ABC has contacted Dr. Hernandez for comment.
What does this viral trend mean?
“I don’t think these videos that are going viral necessarily reflect a blanket rejection of AI from the general public or university students as a whole,” said Xueyin Zha from the Australian National University Integrated AI Network.
I think that may be an exaggeration.
Instead, Zar believes it speaks to Anxiety about how AI will be integrated into higher education.
“I think this speaks to a broader frustration among students who are now being told that AI will transform every field, while students themselves are still grappling with unclear institutional guidance about what learning, thinking, and academic integrity means in the age of AI,” she says.
Many comments on social media pointed to the paradox of students being lectured on the benefits of AI, yet being banned from using it.
But what about those who are not in the university sector?
“I think many young people AI fatigue At the moment,” says Sarah Keith, senior lecturer in media at Macquarie University.
“AI is so pervasive across platforms, software, and services that it is impossible to avoid.”
Dr. Keith says the proliferation of AI-generated content online is causing more people to become critical of it.
“I think there is that too. Public skepticism about whether AI will actually improve people’s lives” she says.
Some alumni have expressed disdain for the widespread use of AI. (ABC Central West: Melanie Pearce)
Go to “AI Vegan”
“When teaching young adults, I found many students who were critical of AI and either refused to use it at all or only used it in very limited ways,” says Dr. Keith.
“I’ve heard students use the term ‘AI vegan’ to describe how they are intentionally distancing themselves from AI.”
According to a recent Gallup poll of Americans ages 14 to 29, Increasingly negative attitudes towards AI.
This is despite nearly half of Gen Z respondents saying they use AI daily or weekly.
What do graduates have about AI?
Approximately 70% of U.S. college students think this way. AI is a threat to their jobsa 2025 Harvard Kennedy School poll.
“Many media outlets have recently focused on how AI works. Affect the number of entry-level positions We looked at different sectors and how major companies like Atlassian are ‘streamlining’ their workforces through downsizing due to AI,” says Dr. Keith.
“This is bad news for recent college graduates.
“They are stepping into a new phase of life, and AI will make it more difficult and more competitive.”
But it’s not just about work.
“The method has also received a lot of media attention. AI will have a huge impact on the environmenthow can technology companies Train models using copyrighted material without authorization or payment We tell the original creator and so on,” says Dr. Keith.
Navigating “complex terrain”
“Universities are still trying to figure out what the appropriate use of AI actually looks like,” Xueyin says.
“AI policies are still evolving, but I don’t think that’s necessarily because universities are being lax about it.
“That’s because this is really very complex terrain.
“Using AI for brainstorming and essay planning can completely take away ownership of thinking and learning from students, depending on how it is used.
“Alternatively, it can actually enhance thinking and creativity as students reflect on their ideas, broaden their scope of inquiry, and stimulate further inquiry.
“So the terrain is vast and the possibilities are vast.”
When it comes to AI, Zar says, “There’s an unprecedented level of benefit, but there’s also an unprecedented level of harm.”
“Although AI can truly enhance thinking, learning, and creativity, it can also hinder the acquisition of fundamental skills, whether it’s learning how to code for the first time, or learning how to write or reason for the first time.”
ABC and Associated Press
