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- Sundar Pichai is scheduled to speak at Stanford University's commencement next month.
- Students have booed several execs this year for talking about AI in their speeches.
- Pichai is one of the leaders of the AI boom, but says people are "rightfully" anxious.
Tech CEOs have a lot to manage, from earnings calls and board meetings to competition and employee morale.
Now, in the age of AI, they also need a "boo strategy."
This year, graduates have heckled some executives during commencement speeches after the corporate leaders made optimistic comments about AI, reflecting a growing anxiety among students about to enter the job market.
Students booed former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the University of Arizona, while Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta drew backlash at Middle Tennessee State University after he discussed AI's impact on music and media.
So the hosts of the tech podcast "Hard Fork" recently asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai what his "boo strategy" will be when he gives the commencement speech at Stanford University next month.
For Pichai, the challenge is real: He leads one of the companies driving the AI boom at a time when many graduates worry the technology could evaporate the jobs they're about to pursue.
"I've always been extraordinarily optimistic about the next generation," he told the hosts. AI, he said, doesn't change that. "My goal would be to share my experiences, and that's what I'm looking to do."
"These graduates are actually both going to be a big part of driving that progress and also dealing with the impact," he added, referring to AI.
It's possible Pichai will be met with a more receptive crowd at Stanford, which is in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to some of the most talked-about AI courses in the country.
Still, the perception of AI among the public is low. A Pew Research Center study found that about half of Americans felt the increased prevalence of AI in their daily lives made them feel "more concerned than excited." Many Americans across the country, meanwhile, are resisting new data centers in their communities, which are essential to powering AI products like chatbots.
At least a dozen major companies have cited increased efficiency from AI as a factor in their decision to lay off employees this year. And AI has made job-seeking more difficult by prolonging the interview process. The unemployment rate for new grads reached a 4-year high at the start of 2026.
Pichai told "Hard Fork" that people are "rightfully" anxious about what sort of future the technology will create. "Humans aren't evolved to process that much change," he said, adding that the scale of the change is unlike anything the world has seen.
Earlier this month at Carnegie Mellon University's commencement, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made the case that AI will be a net positive for humanity, including for those newly starting their careers.
"Now it's your time to realize your dreams," he told graduates. "The timing could not be more perfect."
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