"What happened? Okay, I struck a chord."
A University of Central Florida commencement speaker’s speech praising artificial intelligence was met with thunderous boos from graduates during a ceremony last week, a sign of how some young people dislike the technology’s encroachment into the workforce.
Gloria Caulfield, an executive from Tavistock Development Company, spoke to graduates from UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities and School of Communication on May 8. During her speech, Caulfield lauded AI as the “next Industrial Revolution,” setting off a chorus of boos.
“What happened?” Caulfield said, backing away from the lectern and looking to the other university leaders on stage at UCF’s arena. “Okay, I struck a chord.”
Dillon Delaney, one of the UCF graduates at the ceremony, said Caulfield’s speech was “tone deaf” and “like watching a car crash in real time.”
The 22-year-old graduated with a major in digital media and minor in computer science.
Delaney didn’t boo, he said, but understood why other students did. Caulfield’s remarks underscore the growing divide between how corporate executives feel about the AI in everyday life and how regular people feel, he added.
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