Plus: The comms strategies of the LIRR strike; be careful saying ‘World Cup.’
Twice in recent weeks, students have booed commencement speakers as they have extolled the virtues of AI.
The first incident was at the University of Central Florida, when real estate executive Gloria Caulfield called AI the “next industrial revolution.” Over the weekend, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced a storm of boos for his own speech at the University of Arizona, which compared the rise of AI to the advent of the personal computer.
While Caulfield seemed caught off guard by the anger, Schmidt was more prepared.
“I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you,” Schmidt said amid continuing boos. “There is a fear … there is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics is fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create, and I understand that fear.”
Schmidt said that it is up to the graduates to shape the future of AI to be something positive. This drew further boos.
“If you’d let me make this point, please — the point I’d like to make is choose a diversity of perspectives, including the perspective of the immigrant who has so often been the person who came to this country and made it better,” Schmidt said. “America is at its best when we are the country that ambitious people want to come to. Let us not lose that.”
The boos continued.
Why it matters: Let’s be clear: Boos are not a public opinion poll. We can’t know exactly how the broader population of young professionals feel about AI based on boos at commencement. A 2025 survey from Inside Higher Ed found that AI use was extremely widespread among college students (85%). So by and large, this is not a cohort of Luddites digging their heels in and resisting new technology.
However, this vocal backlash against AI by the people many companies expect to act as “AI natives” is part of a broader societal reckoning with how AI is changing the world. We are no longer in a moment when slapping “AI-powered” into a press release or onto a product label is enticing. The ethical, environmental and job impacts of AI must be addressed.
AI isn’t going anywhere. It’s going to be part of these students’ professional and likely personal lives for the foreseeable future. But companies must address AI with nuance and understanding that it isn’t a net positive for everyone. Some are less excited by the possibilities than frightened by what we may lose as a society by going all-in on AI.
Whether you’re using AI-generated content on social media, talking to employees about the next phase of AI adoption or introducing a new AI-driven product, listen to those boos. And think of how you can address the skeptical and the fearful.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- Workers for the Long Island Rail Road are on strike, leaving 250,000 people without a way to get to work. In addition to the massive logistics issues New York City and state are dealing with, helping people get where they need to go, there’s also a war of communications. “We remain ready to negotiate a fair agreement at any time and get back to work on behalf of Long Island commuters,” read a statement from the striking unions, adopting a posture that they aren’t the problem but that they stand ready to return to the job at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, New York Governor Kathy Hochul attempted to balance New York’s history as a “pro-labor state” with a need to keep fares in check. “We believe in working men and women receiving a fair wage and benefits,” she said in a statement. “But the MTA cannot agree to a contract that would raise fares as much as eight percent and risk hiking taxes for Long Islanders. I have worked too long and hard to reduce costs for our residents, and I will not allow that to be undone.” Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani largely stayed out of the politics and just issued statements about logistics. These difficult balancing acts show three different approaches during a strike — we’ll see which prevail in the public eye and at the bargaining table.
- The World Cup is coming to North America, but many businesses are forbidden from using that phrase to promote watch parties, tournaments or other events related to the huge soccer bash. Think of it as how everyone calls the Super Bowl “the big game” to protect the NFL’s lucrative trademark. But obviously, everyone wants to cash in on the event. The CBC reports that some Canadian bars are skirting the rules by calling it simply “the soccer tournament.” Others, however, are finding success by teaming up with official World Cup sponsors like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. That’s a boon for those sponsors and a way to make their dollars stretch even further. Still, make sure you’re being careful when it comes to content around the World Cup — it may be time for a quick chat with your legal department about what’s fair game.
- Claire’s, beloved boutique and ear piercer, is growing up. After declaring bankruptcy, the mail staple is coming back with a new shade of purple (“The Gen Alpha girl is just really feminine and not super edgy,” said Chief Brand Officer Michelle Goad of the switch to the softer shade dubbed “Lilith”) and a new focus not on girls, but on tweens and young teens. To reach that goal, the Claire’s team has set up a portal that combines first-hand observations of Gen Alpha girls often gleaned from their own children with social listening from across the web. “We meet as a team, almost like a newsroom, and we decide, ‘Is this thing worth making a product out of? Or is this thing just a brand moment?’” Goad told the Wall Street Journal. “We’ve been able to collapse the bureaucracy of getting it from insight into action.” This sophisticated manner of listening and adapting to changing audience demands could be applied to any organization. How are you listening today?
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
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