Commencement Backlash, Tech CEOs, and the Student Resistance to Corporate AI Hype:
In Arizona, robes and tassels swayed,
a former Google chief came to parade.
A decade at the helm of search was his —
now here to soothe two thousand graduates.
He praised the chip, the dawn of glowing code,
the "Person of the Year" of '82 he showed,
how laptops, phones, and webs set knowledge free —
then he said "AI"… and they did not agree.
Oh, AI is a rebellious bird
that no graduating crowd will tame!
You sing its praise — they drown your every word
and greet your dream with cries of shame.
The more you preach, the more they groan,
the louder still the boos resound.
Beware, beware the cap and gown —
you praise the bot, they boo you down!
(boo, boo) they boo you down!
(boo, boo) they boo you down!
"I hear you," said the man above the noise,
"I feel the fear in all you girls and boys:
the jobs evaporate, the climate's cracked,
you've got a mess you never made — that's a fact."
"But please," he begged, "if I could make my point!"
(the crowd had other business for this joint).
"The future's still unwritten — yours to mold!"
They booed him warmer as the speech grew cold.
Oh, AI is a rebellious bird
that no commencement hall will charm!
He spoke of hope — they hadn't heard a word,
they raised the roof and raised alarm.
He pled for diverse points of view,
the immigrant who built this town —
beware, beware the cap and gown —
he praised the bot, they booed him down!
(boo, boo) they booed him down!
(boo, boo) they booed him down!
He wasn't first to weather all that scorn —
in Florida a speaker met the storm:
"the next industrial revolution!" cried —
the boos rolled in like a rising tide.
So heed the moral, speakers of the spring:
don't praise the algorithm when they ask you to sing.
The robe-clad masses make their feelings heard —
for AI is a rebellious bird!
(boo, boo)… a rebellious bird!
(boo, boo)… a rebellious bird!
Listen to more loop optimized musical survival dispatches on ParadAIse Found – The Album.
music and lyrics © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes