인공지능(AI)이 취업 전망을 위협하면서 최근 미국 대학 졸업식에서 AI의 발전을 강조하는 연설에 대해 졸업생들의 거센 야유가 쏟아지고 있습니다. 에릭 슈밋 전 구글 CEO를 비롯한 연사들이 AI의 긍정적인 미래를 언급할 때마다 대규모 야유가 터져 나왔으며, 학생들은 취업에 대한 불안감을 자극하는 이러한 연설이 무례하다고 지적했습니다. 여론조사 결과 역시 대다수의 대학생과 Z세대가 AI를 자신의 진로에 대한 위협으로 인식하고 있음을 보여줍니다.
번역된 본문
인공지능(AI)이 진로 전망에 먹구름을 드리우면서, 올해 대학 졸업식 시즌에는 AI가 환영받지 못하는 주제가 되었다. 여러 캠퍼스에서 연사가 AI로 화제를 돌릴 때마다 졸업생들이 경기장 전체를 가득 채운 채 야유를 보내며 연설을 방해하는 일이 벌어졌다.
지난 주말 애리조나 대학교 약 1만 명의 졸업생들을 대상으로 AI의 부상에 대한 기조연설을 하던 전 구글 CEO 에릭 슈밋(Eric Schmidt)은 연이은 야유에 직면했다. 슈밋은 "AI는 모든 직업, 모든 교실, 모든 병원, 모든 실험실, 모든 사람과 여러분의 모든 관계에 영향을 미칠 것"이라고 말했고, 이내 관객석에서 야유가 빗발치기 시작했다.
야유가 계속되자 슈밋은 "여러분이 그것에 대해 어떻게 느끼고 있는지 압니다. 여러분의 목소리가 들립니다. 당신들 세대에는 미래가 이미 정해져 있고, 기계가 다가오고 있으며, 일자리가 증발하고 있다는 두려움이 있습니다. 나는 그 두려움을 이해합니다"라고 화답했다.
법학전문대학원 진학을 앞둔 22세 올리비아 말론(Olivia Malone)은 학생들에게 이 주제가 다소 눈치가 없고 시기상조(Out of touch)로 느껴졌다고 말했다. 말론은 "그의 연설은 학생들에게 매우 무례했다. 우리 학생들은 AI 사용을 권장받지 못하고 사용하면 벌점을 받는다. 그런데 우리 연사가 AI의 옹호자가 되는 것은 그냥 '아, 왜?'라는 반응이 나올 수밖에 없다"고 지적했다.
다른 대학에서 AI를 언급했던 연사들에게도 비슷한 반응이 나온 것은, 오늘날 대학생들 사이에 만연해 있는 불안감을 잘 보여준다. 캠퍼스 전반과 수많은 최근 설문조사에서 학생들은 AI에 의해 쓸모없어지지 않을 기술, 전공, 직업이 무엇일지 알아내려 애쓰고 있다고 말한다.
하버드 케네디 스쿨 정치연구소의 2025년 여론조사에 따르면 약 70%의 대학생이 AI를 자신의 취업 전망에 대한 위협으로 보고 있다. 또한 최근 갤럽(Gallup)이 Z세대 청년을 대상로 실시한 여론조사 등 여러 지표는 AI가 진로 계획을 망칠 것이라는 우려가 커지고 있음을 시사한다.
Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements 1 of 2 | Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt speaks during the International Investment Summit in London, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP) Read More 2 of 2 | Scott Borchetta arrives at the 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards Nov. 19, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) Read More Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements 1 of 2 | Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt speaks during the International Investment Summit in London, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP) Read More 1 of 2 Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt speaks during the International Investment Summit in London, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP) --> Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. --> Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More 2 of 2 | Scott Borchetta arrives at the 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards Nov. 19, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) Read More 2 of 2 Scott Borchetta arrives at the 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards Nov. 19, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) --> Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. --> Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOCELYN GECKER Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] --> Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. --> Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit As artificial intelligence casts a shadow over career prospects , it is becoming an unwelcome subject at this season’s college commencements. At several campuses, graduates have interrupted speakers with stadium-wide boos when the topic turned to AI . Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced repeated jeers over the weekend during his keynote address to about 10,000 University of Arizona graduates on the rise of AI. “It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have,” Schmidt said, as booing began to build in the audience. “I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you,” Schmidt responded as the boos continued. “There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating … and I understand that fear.” To students the topic felt tone deaf, said Olivia Malone, a 22-year-old University of Arizona graduate bound for law school. “His speech was incredibly disrespectful to students,” said Malone. “We as students are discouraged from using it and penalized for using it. And then to have our speaker be the champion of AI is just like, OK? Why?” Similar responses to keynote speakers who touched on AI at other universities highlight a pervasive sense of anxiety among today’s college students. Related Stories OpenAI avoided a costly court loss to Elon Musk, but neither side is unscathed 3 MIN READ Tool or threat? Cannes Film Festival grapples with the rise of AI 4 MIN READ Federal court rejects Elon Musk’s claims against OpenAI, saying he filed his lawsuit too late 4 MIN READ 91 Polls show growing concern that AI will doom career plans Across campuses and in a multitude of recent surveys, students say they are trying to figure out which skills, majors and jobs won’t be rendered useless by AI. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School. A recent Gallup poll of Generation Z youth and adults, between ages 14 and 29, found increasingly negative attitudes toward AI. About half of Gen Z teens and adults say they use AI daily or weekly. But anger about the technology has increased since a year ago, while excitement and hopefulness about AI is declining. Read More Another speaker, real estate executive Gloria Caulfield, also faced boos when she highlighted the advent of artificial intelligence during a keynote this month at the University of Central Florida. “The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution,” Caulfield said, as boos erupted, to her surprise. She turned around to ask those behind her, “What happened?” “OK, I struck a chord. May I finish?” said Caulfield, who is vice president of strategic alliances at the Tavistock Development Company in Orlando. “Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives,” she said, prompting cheers. “And now, AI capabilities are in the palm of our hand,” she said to more jeering. Speakers have tried to stress positives A similar response met music executive Scott Borchetta when he spoke to the graduating class of Middle Tennessee State University about how AI is shaping the music industry. “AI is rewriting production as we sit here,” said Borchetta, the CEO of Big Machine Records, as the students in caps and gowns booed. “I know it. Deal with it … Do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you.” Schmidt offered a similar message to graduates: Their fear is rational, but they have the power to shape how AI develops. The advice didn’t land well with students like Malone, who said the former Google executive’s speech was more self-serving than inspirational. “It felt like a big advertisement. It felt like the longest Gemini ad ever,” said Malone, noting that the choice of Schmidt as keynote speaker had also been controversial because his name appears in the Epstein files . “Everybody I was sitting by was really hooting and hollering about that, yelling, ‘Epstein files! Epstein files!’” Grads already face a tough job market Part of the backlash from graduating students stems from the dismal job market they’re entering. The unemployment rate for college graduates ages 22 to 27 has reached its highest level in a dozen years. Sami Wargo just graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, where an AI expert was the undergraduate commencement speaker despite a student petition demanding that the school find someone else. “Given how AI has become an increasing threat towards our jobs, especially for our graduating class, we thought it was a little bit tone deaf,” said Wargo, who majored in digital media and minored in advertising. Chris Duffey, an AI evangelist at Adobe who recently used AI to “co-author” a book titled “Superhuman Innovation: Transforming Business with Artificial Intelligence,” took the stage anyway. “Innovation,” he told the students, “will reveal what can be done, but only you can decide what should be done.” Wargo said she joined other students around her in booing his message. The 21-year-old has applied for around 30 jobs but hasn’t landed one yet. Many of the job descriptions say applicants must “collaborate with AI,” but “I don’t know what that means,” she said, noting that most of her classes banned her from using AI. Having to be reminded of all the uncertainty at their graduation, she said, was another “little dent in what was supposed to be a celebratory day.” ___ The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Hollingsworth has worked for The AP for 25 years, covering stories of interest in the Midwest and beyond. She is based in Kansas City, Missouri. twitter mailto JOCELYN GECKER Gecker is an Associated Press reporter covering education with a focus on social media and youth mental health.