Steve Wozniak tells students: You ‘all have AI – actual intelligence’
▼ Summary
– Steve Wozniak earned applause at Grand Valley State University’s graduation by reassuring graduates about AI, unlike other speakers who were booed.
– Wozniak told graduates, “You have AI — actual intelligence,” and described AI as an attempt to duplicate brain functions.
– Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and real estate executive Gloria Caulfield were both booed for their AI comments at separate graduation ceremonies.
– AI is changing the job market for new graduates by altering required skills, company assessments, and causing AI-related layoffs.
– Wozniak advised graduates to “think different” and avoid following the same steps as others in their careers.
Steve Wozniak managed to pull off something that few college commencement speakers have achieved this season: he drew applause while discussing artificial intelligence.
The Apple cofounder took the podium earlier this month at Grand Valley State University’s graduation ceremony. Rather than stoking fear about the rise of automation, Wozniak delivered a reassuring message to graduates entering a workforce shaped by the AI revolution.
“You have AI , actual intelligence,” Wozniak told the crowd.
The quip earned laughter and a round of applause from the audience.
“It would take too long to go deeply into what I think about AI, but we’ve been trying to create a brain,” Wozniak said. “Is there a way we can duplicate a routine a trillion times and have it work like a brain? AI is one of those attempts.”
Wozniak’s speech went off without a hitch, which is more than can be said for other AI-focused commencement speakers this season. In the weeks that followed, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and real estate executive Gloria Caulfield were both booed for their remarks about AI at two separate graduation events.
AI is casting a long shadow over new graduates entering the job market. The technology is reshaping everything from the skills employers demand to the methods companies use to evaluate candidates. Its capacity to automate routine tasks has already prompted some firms to carry out AI-related layoffs.
Reflecting on his own career at Apple, Wozniak offered the graduates a piece of advice for the road ahead.
“You should always try to think different,” he said. “Don’t follow the same steps as a million other people. Think, is there something I can do a little different?”
(Source: Business Insider)
