Students stage walkout during Google CEO Sundar Pichai's speech at Stanford graduation ceremony
PTC News Desk: Stanford University's graduation ceremony on Sunday witnessed an unexpected disruption after a group of students staged while Google CEO Sundar Pichai was delivering his keynote speech.
The ceremony that otherwise centres around celebration and academic achievement, briefly turned tense as some attendees left the venue citing concerns over technological companies and their external partnerships.
The disruption at the graduation ceremony was linked to activist groups attending the event. According to a post by BreakThrough News, organisations including Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid coordinated a walkout to protest Google's reported contracts with the Israeli military, the US Department of Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
During the keynote address, several graduates reportedly stood up and left the auditorium together, drawing attention as the speech continued.
A major theme of the speech was the importance of attitude and perspective. The speaker encouraged graduates to remain optimistic as they begin their careers. To illustrate the point, he recalled moving to California in the 1990s and explained how his initial impressions changed after he gained a better understanding of the local context, ultimately altering the way he viewed his surroundings.
“I know today is about giving you all advice,” Pichai told graduates. “But people have also been giving me a lot of advice on what to say. Actually, it's been the same advice, and it's about what not to say.”
He also added a light remark during his address, saying, “People thought it would be really difficult for me. It is the last two letters of my last name, after all.”
A major theme of the speech was the importance of attitude and perspective. The speaker encouraged graduates to remain optimistic as they begin their careers. To illustrate the point, he recalled moving to California in the 1990s and explained how his initial impressions changed after he gained a better understanding of the local context, ultimately altering the way he viewed his surroundings.
Meanwhile, concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs continue to grow across the technology industry. Leaders such as Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have warned that entry-level positions could come under pressure as AI becomes more capable and widely adopted.
Several technology companies have also reduced their workforce while citing AI-driven changes as one of the reasons, creating uncertainty for new graduates entering the job market. However, Jensen Huang recently argued that some companies may be using AI as a convenient explanation for layoffs rather than as the sole cause of job cuts.
- With inputs from agencies
