Real Estate Exec Giving UCF Commencement Speech Booed for Praising Billionaires and Potential of AI

[Anonymous]

Perhaps the real estate lady used AI to create her speech...

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/style/ucf-commencement-ai-booed-gloria-caulfield.html

The purpose of a commencement speech is to uplift, inspire and embolden new graduates to go out into the world and attempt the impossible. But when the speaker gets it wrong, it can be a wet blanket.

That was the effect Gloria Caulfield, a real estate executive, seemed to have when she addressed the graduating class of the University of Central Florida’s College of Arts and Humanities and its Nicholson School of Communication and Media at a ceremony on May 8.

“The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution,” she said, addressing a sea of black caps, gowns and tassels, most of them with newly acquired degrees in creative disciplines, including film, animation and media production.

The crowd booed.

[Anonymous]

A similar speech at Carnegie Mellon was received positively; A school filled with tech majors can only see their roles in the future.

Humanities majors have studied the Industrial Revolution and that set off the negative connotation. She reminded them of the child labor, lack of safety, 80 hr work week, etc.

Assume everyone views IR the same?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A similar speech at Carnegie Mellon was received positively; A school filled with tech majors can only see their roles in the future.

Humanities majors have studied the Industrial Revolution and that set off the negative connotation. She reminded them of the child labor, lack of safety, 80 hr work week, etc.

Assume everyone views IR the same?

But that assumes regulations, unions, etc. Something that the current state of the world and the tech bros in particular eschew.
We desperately need regulation (data centers anyone?) but money drives decisions right now and big Money does not want to be regulated. Probably tech majors do not know or have not experienced that nuance.

[Anonymous]

I'd like to see worse done to the AI boosters, but it's a start.

[Anonymous]

In other news, there is a renewed push to bring back the textile workers on the Dan River...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A similar speech at Carnegie Mellon was received positively; A school filled with tech majors can only see their roles in the future.

Humanities majors have studied the Industrial Revolution and that set off the negative connotation. She reminded them of the child labor, lack of safety, 80 hr work week, etc.

Assume everyone views IR the same?

I assume the Carnegie Mellon speaker offered more nuance than the University of Central Florida speaker. If you just speak in generalities about how great AI is, and how wonderful Jeff Bezos and Amazon are, of course, a student with half their brain cells functioning is going to be annoyed.

[Anonymous]

I liked what the Dean of VT's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said at graduation. She listed all the things AI *can't* do and the importance now more than ever of a liberal arts background. I couldn't agree more.

[Anonymous]

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche

[Anonymous]

UAz booed Eric Schmidt for same spiel. that's the number one issue with llms, most people hate it.

[Anonymous]

Booing has become incredibly common at commencement. Our family attended 3 this year and all involved booing. What is up with this generation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Booing has become incredibly common at commencement. Our family attended 3 this year and all involved booing. What is up with this generation?

The real estate lady should be grateful it is just booing; at the deep south college I attended it would be tar and feather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Booing has become incredibly common at commencement. Our family attended 3 this year and all involved booing. What is up with this generation?

What’s with speakers trying to lecture instead of being inspiring?