As commencement speeches go, the one given by Elon Musk at the SpaceX Starbase graduation ceremony last weekend was already bound to be memorable.
Musk, known for his unwavering enthusiasm for AI, took the stage to celebrate the accomplishments of graduating engineers and technicians who helped make Starbase a reality. However, his speech quickly took a turn when he started talking about the ‘brilliant’ potential of AI.
But Musk wasn’t alone in his AI-filled commencement speech. At the University of Michigan, the keynote speaker, a renowned robotics professor, spoke about the importance of AI in shaping the future of the workforce. Meanwhile, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the commencement speaker touched on the role AI will play in driving innovation and progress.
Commencement speakers get AI fatigue
But not everyone was impressed. As this year’s commencement season comes to a close, at least a couple of speakers have discovered that it’s tough to get graduating students excited about a future shaped by AI. In fact, some students were seen yawning or nodding off as their commencement speakers went on about the ‘exciting’ possibilities of AI.
So what’s behind this AI fatigue? One reason may be that AI has become a ubiquitous term, used to describe everything from predictive analytics to self-driving cars. As a result, its significance and importance have been watered down.
What this means
For graduating students, the takeaway is that AI may not be the panacea it’s often made out to be. While it has the potential to solve complex problems and drive innovation, it’s also a complex and rapidly changing field that’s still in its early stages. What’s more, AI is a tool that will likely shape many aspects of their lives, from the jobs they’ll have to the products they’ll use.
As students embark on their own journeys, it’s up to them to decide how they’ll engage with AI – and what they’ll do to make sure it serves them, rather than the other way around. And as commencement speakers, it’s time to take a step back and think about what they’re really trying to say – and whether or not AI is the best way to say it.
A new conversation
For commencement speakers, there’s a lesson to be learned here. Rather than trying to predict the future and tout the benefits of AI, they might be better off starting a different conversation – one that’s more nuanced and more relevant to the students in front of them.
