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Steve Wozniak gave the commencement address at Grand Valley State University earlier this month.
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He cheered after telling students they had artificial intelligence, or “real intelligence.”
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Students booed some other executives who supported artificial intelligence in commencement speeches.
Steve Wozniak did something no other college commencement speaker could this year: win applause when talking about artificial intelligence.
The Apple co-founder took the stage to speak at Grand Valley State University’s commencement ceremony earlier this month. In his speech, Wozniak offered reassurance to recent graduates entering the workforce at the height of the AI revolution.
“You have artificial intelligence — real intelligence,” Wozniak said.
This remark won laughter and applause from the entire audience.
“It’s taken a long time to get to the bottom of what I think of artificial intelligence, but we’ve been working hard to create a brain,” Wozniak said. “Is there a way we can repeat a routine a trillion times and have it work like a brain? Artificial intelligence is one of them.”
While Wozniak delivered his speech without interruption, the same could not be said for some other commencement speakers at the forefront of artificial intelligence. In the following weeks, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and real estate executive Gloria Caulfield were both booed for comments about artificial intelligence at two separate graduation ceremonies.
Artificial intelligence is looming over recent graduates as they enter the job market. Technology is changing everything from the skills candidates need to the way companies evaluate them. Its ability to automate many tasks has led some companies to make AI-related layoffs.
In his commencement speech, Wozniak reflected on his experience working at Apple and provided some advice for students starting their careers.
“You should always try to think differently,” he said. “Don’t follow the same steps as a million other people. Think, what could I have done differently?”
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