UCF Commencement Speaker’s AI Talk Got Booed

A real estate executive addressed graduating students at the University of Central Florida about the promise of AI and got booed. Her audience analysis, the student’s reactions, and her recovery are worth class discussions.

Gloria Caulfield said, “The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.” “Boo!” from the crowd. She is surprised and looks back at others on stage, asking “What happened?” She is shaken. When she continues, her voice is unsteady, and more boos follow. Cheers follow when she says, “Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives.”

Perhaps most relevant is the audience. She’s speaking to graduates at UCF’s College of Arts and Humanities and its Nicholson School of Communication and Media—students who have faced challenging job prospects for years and are greatly affected by AI today. As one student said, “Talking about artificial intelligence at a college for arts and humanities can be, you know, a bit rough because it kind of goes against the humanities part.”

In addition, recent Gallup research shows a steep decline in young people’s confidence in AI. As of now, only 27% of people ages 14 to 29 feel hopeful about AI, and 48% of working Gen Zers in the workforce “believe the risks of AI in the workforce outweigh its benefits.”

The boos made headlines and took Caulfield off guard, but looking at the video of the crowd, we see a mixed response, with some students silent as others cheered loudly. Caulfield referred to the “bipolar topic”; another word choice might have been better.

LinkedIn comments give students a window into how academics and industry folks reacted to the commencement scene with some saying students need to face reality.

Students can discuss how Caulfield handled the situation. Was it a misjudgment for her to talk about AI as she did? Should she have anticipated the response? Should she have avoided the topic entirely? She did preface that part with a pep talk about change, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. Perhaps a softer approach, recognizing students’ vulnerabilities and fears would have been better—and solutions or suggestions.