But it was the subject of AI that dominated the discussion. While artificial intelligence is broadly embraced in China, he said, the U.S. has approached the technology with deep skepticism, fearing the loss of jobs and raising vehement protests against the building of data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to make good on the promises that we\u2019ve made to people with respect to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a litany of other federal programs, we\u2019re going to need to grow our economy,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cWhile AI is one of our best hopes for enhancing productivity, we won\u2019t know definitively whether it can deliver on that promise for years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started my career, we were at the moment of embracing globalization,\u201d Griffin explained. \u201cAmerican companies on the world stage did extraordinarily well, and globalization opened more opportunities around the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But as U.S. companies sought lower production costs, they began relocating labor-intensive manufacturing operations overseas, outsourcing millions of jobs to China.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShutting down a factory in the midwest and moving those jobs to China may have created value for shareholders, but we didn\u2019t pay enough attention as a nation to the impact it had on that local community,\u201d said Griffin, noting that the practice resulted in soaring unemployment rates across the Rust Belt.\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S., he said, had lost its manufacturing base. \u201cIt\u2019s very politically attractive to talk about the ills of globalization, but those jobs aren\u2019t coming back to the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cWe may have a manufacturing renaissance in America, but it\u2019s not because people pined for the return of the factory floor of 50 years ago. It\u2019s because the revolution that\u2019s taking place in technology and robotics will make it possible to once again manufacture in the United States high-quality products at a cost-effective price.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For his part, Pavlou noted that the Business School offers both a major and a minor focused on artificial intelligence through its Department of Business Technology. \u201cOur strategy is simple: leading with AI,\u201d Pavlou said. \u201cOur philosophy is also simple. Don\u2019t compete with AI; augment human intelligence. Use AI to amplify human potential.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Griffin doled out a wealth of advice to students, urging them to become lifetime learners and to take risks. \u201cThat means reading research papers, reading books, finding mentors. Every chance you get, you want to be the person who\u2019s listening to other people\u2019s ideas and perspectives, because you want to be the person learning,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if something goes wrong in your 20s, it\u2019s going to be okay. You can deal with the consequences and find your calling. Don\u2019t be risk averse at this moment in life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In his introductory remarks, Cobb praised Griffin as \u201ca passionate philanthropist.\u201d Two years ago, Griffin donated $50 million to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center<\/a>, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth \u2013 University of Miami Health System. Born out of a long-held hope to eradicate the disease, his landmark gift to the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Florida helped fund a new cancer research building named in his honor.<\/p>\n![\"Ken](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ken-griffin-event-embed-940x529.webp\")
During the nearly hour-and-a-half-long talk, in which Business School Dean Paul Pavlou<\/a> and students Anjali Nimmagadda and Fred Terezi posed questions, Griffin addressed a range of topics, from the state of economic and geopolitical challenges across the world to U.S. fiscal policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n