Google CEO Sundar Pichai on students booing during college commencement speeches: We have to be very mindful of the fact that these graduates are ...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said he remains optimistic about young people despite growing concerns among students about artificial intelligence and its impact on jobs. Speaking on the “Hard Fork” podcast ahead of his upcoming commencement speech at Stanford University, Pichai addressed questions about whether graduates could react negatively to AI-related comments during the ceremony. The host of the podcast asked Sundar Pichai what his “boo strategy” would be when speaking to graduates next month. Responding to it, Pichai said that the next generation will “rise to the challenge”. The Google CEO further said technological progress has historically helped drive global progress and added that today’s graduates will both shape AI development and deal with its effects.


“These graduates are actually both going to be a big part of that driving that progress and also dealing with the impact of that technology,” Pichai said. He added, “I've always been an extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation.”


“I think the next generation rises to the challenge and builds a better world,” he said.


Pichai’s remarks comes after former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed at the University of Arizona, while CEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta also faced criticism after discussing AI’s impact on music and media during a speech at Middle Tennessee State University.

Sundar Pichai: People are rightfully worried about AI

AI-related job worries have also increased this year, with several major companies citing AI-driven efficiency as a reason for layoffs. Business Insider reported that unemployment among recent graduates reached a four-year high at the start of 2026.


Pichai acknowledged the anxiety around rapid technological change, saying people are “rightfully” worried about what AI could mean for the future.


“Humans aren't evolved to process that much change,” he said.


During the podcast, the host cited a New York Times poll which “found that only about 16% of people say that AI is mostly good, about 35% say it's mostly bad”. “What do you make of the AI backlash that we're seeing right now, and how much leverage do you think Google has to change that perception?,” the interviewer asked Pichai.


To this Pichai said:


“AI is always viewed as the most profound technology humanity will ever work on. It's progressing at an extraordinary pace. Humans aren't evolved to process that much change. And there are people rightfully anxious about what is the future that this technology will bring”.


“We've had far simpler technology shifts where there has been anxiety around those shifts. This is of a scale unlike anything we've seen before. I think the we as an industry have to do a lot more to continue driving and showing the benefits that's possible with technology,” he stated adding “We have more work to do to make sure when we are scaling up the infrastructure investments, etc...what are the things we can do to make some of that work better”.