A University of Central Florida commencement speaker was mercilessly booed after telling graduates that AI is the “next Industrial Revolution.”

Gloria Caulfield, the president of the Lake Nona Institute and vice president of strategic alliances at Tavistock, delivered an address to graduating students who studied the arts and humanities May 8. She compared AI to previous technological upheavals, drawing a parallel between the new, rapidly developing technology and the “trepidation” that was felt during the dawn of the internet, email and smartphones. (RELATED: We Are Trapped Inside Dystopia)

She went on to say, “Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives,” which prompted a wave of cheers.

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A University of Central Florida commencement speaker was mercilessly booed after telling graduates that AI is the “next Industrial Revolution”

The grads cheered when she said, “Only a few years ago, AI was not a factor in our lives” pic.twitter.com/Zr6dubd0BW

— John Loftus (@JohnCFLoftus1) May 13, 2026

Caulfield appeared flustered, laughing and asking the graduates if she might continue her speech.

“We’ve got a bipolar topic here, I see,” Caulfield said.

The graduates booed again when she said that humans now have the power of AI technology in the palm of their hands.

Days after the speech, local Florida news outlet News 6 interviewed Madison Fuentes, a UCF graduate with a degree in English creative writing.

“Why say that in a room full of creatives?” Fuentes told the outlet. “I don’t think that kids are having a hard time accepting it because we know that AI exists. I think we’re just having a hard time acknowledging that it’s taking away job opportunities from us.”

News 6 also conducted an Instagram poll to get a pulse on how young people feel about AI. The outlet reported that nearly 88% of the respondents said “get [AI] out of here.” Only 12% said they supported it.