Students Boo Commencement Speaker After She Calls AI Next Industrial Revolution

Source: Hacker News

AI Remarks Met with Booing at UCF Commencement

Event details

On May 8, Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances at Tavistock Group, delivered the commencement address to graduates of the University of Central Florida’s College of Arts and Humanities and Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Speaker’s message

Caulfield framed artificial intelligence as “the next industrial revolution,” telling the graduating humanities students:

“And let’s face it, change can be daunting. The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.”

Audience reaction

The statement prompted murmurs that quickly escalated into a full‑scale booing:

At that point, murmurs rippled through the crowd. Caulfield paused, and the crowd erupted into boos.
“Oh, what happened?” Caulfield said, turning around with her hands out. “Okay, I struck a chord. May I finish?”
Someone in the crowd yelled, “AI SUCKS!”