Stanford’s commencement turned into a slow-motion walkout Sunday as Google chief Sundar Pichai began his keynote address. Video captured dozens of grads leaving their seats, some holding signs condemning Google’s work with US government agencies, including one that read “ICE spies with Google AI,” per the BBC. SFGate reports about 200 students walked out, though the exact tally—and motives—remain murky; some students carried Palestinian flags and condemned Google’s ties to the Israeli government, suggesting multiple strands of protest.
Pichai, a Stanford alumnus, mostly steered clear of artificial intelligence in his speech, joking instead about the anticipated backlash: “People thought it would be really difficult for me. It is the last two letters of my last name, after all.” He did not respond to a BBC request for comment. The scene fits a broader graduation-season pattern: speakers who tout AI are increasingly drawing boos. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the University of Arizona, a real estate executive at the University of Central Florida, and record-label boss Scott Borchetta at Middle Tennessee State all met jeers while discussing the rise of AI.