Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed by many graduates during his University of Arizona commencement speech on May 15 after repeatedly focusing on artificial intelligence and its future impact. He acknowledged student fears as "rational," urged graduates not to surrender their agency and called technology a tool that should be guided by human values such as diversity and debate. The reaction echoed a similar backlash at the University of Central Florida and underscores growing campus tensions around AI, jobs and ethics.
Eric Schmidt Booed at University of Arizona Commencement After AI-Focused Address
Eric Schmidt on November 06, 2025 in Miami, Florida.Credit: Alexander Tamargo/Getty
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced audible backlash when he delivered the University of Arizona commencement address on Friday, May 15, after spending much of his speech on artificial intelligence and its implications.
As Schmidt described AI’s potential to reshape professions and daily life, students booed repeatedly. At one point he paused and appealed to the crowd, saying, “If you'd let me make this point, please,” only to be met with a louder uproar. He acknowledged the reaction and sought to address the graduates’ concerns.
Schmidt framed the moment as one of generational anxiety and possibility. He told graduates he understood their fear and called those feelings “rational.” He warned against treating the future as predetermined and urged students not to surrender their agency: “The future does not simply arrive. It gets built in laboratories, in dormitories, in startups, in classrooms, and by legislators. And the people building it will be you and people like you.”
Eric Schmidt on April 18, 2026 in Santa Monica, California.Credit: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
“So today we stand on this edge of another technological transformation. One that will be larger, faster, and more consequential than what came before. It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have,” Schmidt said.
He emphasized that technology is a tool that must be guided by human values. Schmidt urged graduates to bring values such as freedom, debate, diversity and equality to their work in technology. He specifically encouraged a diversity of perspectives, calling out the role immigrants have often played in strengthening the country: “America is at its best when we are the country that ambitious people want to come to.”
Schmidt also downplayed the need for every graduate to be a scientist while warning that AI will influence nearly every field: “If science is not your passion, if you don't care about science, that's okay, because AI is going to touch everything else as well. Whatever path you choose, AI will become part of how the work is done.” That line drew additional boos from the crowd.
He praised AI’s problem-solving capabilities and used a blunt metaphor to urge graduates to seize opportunities: “When someone offers you a seat on the rocket ship, you do not ask which seat. You just get on.”
University of ArizonaCredit: Epics/Getty
PEOPLE contacted the University of Arizona and representatives for Schmidt but did not immediately receive a response. University spokesperson Mitch Zak told NBC News the school invited Schmidt because of his “extraordinary leadership and global contributions in technology, innovation and scientific advancement,” and cited his philanthropic partnerships that support academic research.
Campus Backlash Mirrors UCF Incident
The reaction at Arizona echoed a similar response at the University of Central Florida, where real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was booed after comparing AI to a new Industrial Revolution during a commencement speech. Like Schmidt, Caulfield struck a mix of boos and applause as she argued that AI alongside human intelligence could help solve major problems.
Both incidents highlight rising tensions on campuses about AI’s impact on jobs, ethics and society, and reflect broader debates over how universities and industry should shape technological change.
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