Dozens walk out as Google boss Pichai addresses Stanford graduates
Scores of students left the Stanford University graduation ceremony when Google CEO Sundar Pichai took the stage to give the commencement speech.
Video shot by the BBC shows dozens of people protesting the company’s controversial work with the US government. “ICE spies with Google AI,” one sign read.
This follows other recent campus protests against tech leaders, but these have largely focused on artificial intelligence and jobs concerns.
While Pichai appeared to downplay the expected protests, he largely ignored the issue of artificial intelligence in his remarks. “People thought it was going to be really hard for me,” he said. “After all, it’s the last two letters of my last name.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai [BBC]
Pichai, a Stanford graduate, did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
The exact number of students who drop out of graduation remains unclear, but SFGate estimates the number to be around 200.
It is also unclear whether all the students who left were motivated by the same goal, as some were seen waving a Palestinian flag.
Protests against graduation speakers in the US this year have illustrated a broader unease about AI on campuses: Speakers who mention AI are increasingly met with hostility from students.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed by students while talking about his rise artificial intelligence In his speech at the University of Arizona’s commencement ceremony in May, he highlighted growing concern about the impact of artificial intelligence on employment.
“I know how many of you feel about this. I can hear you,” Schmidt told the graduates as jeers rang through the venue during remarks comparing today’s artificial intelligence boom to the rise of computers four decades ago.
Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield had a similar reception at the University of Central Florida: “The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution,” she said as the crowd booed.
Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta was also met with ridicule when artificial intelligence was mentioned at the opening ceremony of Middle Tennessee State University.
His answer to the graduates: “As I said, try hard, it is a tool.”
Additional reporting by Lily Jamali
