Google’s former and current CEO have both weighed in on the promise of new graduates in the age of AI, despite some showing skepticism about the technology.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered the commencement address to the University of Arizona’s Class of 2026, describing AI as a “technological transformation” that will influence every profession, according to a video shared by The Wall Street Journal. Some graduates booed during parts of his speech.
Schmidt acknowledged several fears among graduates, including concerns that their futures have already been decided, “the machines are coming,” jobs will disappear, and that AI could worsen climate issues, the outlet shared.
“Today, we stand on this edge of another technological transformation. One that will be larger, faster, and more consequential than what came before,” he told graduates during his address. “It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person, and every relationship you have. I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear … I want to say something to you this evening as clearly as I can. To speak of the future as though it has already been decided is to surrender the one thing that actually matters. You are surrendering your agency. The future does not simply arrive. It gets built in laboratories, in dormitories, in startups, in classrooms, in legislators. And the people building it will be you and people like you.”
Sundar Pichai, who has been Google’s CEO since 2015, said during an interview on the podcast “Hard Fork” that graduates will play a major role in AI’s future. He is preparing to deliver a commencement speech at Stanford University in June.
“Anytime we have driven technology progress, I think it helps drive progress in the world,” he said. “And in some ways, these graduates are actually both going to be a big part of driving that progress and also dealing with the impact of that technology. So I think we have to be very mindful of that, and I’ve always been an extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation. I think we all always have this view in the world. We are anxious and we worry about the next generation, but I think the next generation rises to the challenge and builds a better world.”
Pichai said the industry still has more groundwork to do to demonstrate AI’s benefits. He said while AI is “the most profound technology humanity will ever work on,” he is aware of the debate surrounding the technology and believes the discussion is healthy.
“Change is happening so fast. You need people in democracies, you need citizens to be engaged, be aware that this is happening, and make their preferences known,” he said on the podcast. “That’s what causes action in society. So I think there’s something healthy about this dialogue too, which is happening. And given the pace at which the technology is moving forward, it seems right to me, both the concerns and the fact that we need to take it seriously.”
