Gen Z boos AI boosters as generational split widens

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A sharp generational split over AI is becoming harder to ignore. Recent backlash against Martin Scorsese’s decision to join Black Forest Labs and use generative AI for storyboarding was followed by viral scenes at college graduations, where students booed speakers praising the technology.

At the University of Florida, property developer Gloria Caulfield called AI “the next Industrial Revolution.” Humanities graduates, facing debt and job insecurity, responded with loud boos. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta were also booed at commencement ceremonies after speaking positively about AI.

The reaction cuts against the common assumption that younger people are always the fastest adopters of new technology. According to the article, a recent Gallup study found Gen Z is not persuaded that AI improves creativity or critical thinking, and most believe it may harm learning. By contrast, a 2025 Thomson Reuters survey found baby boomers were the most “ambitious group” in predicting AI’s arrival in the workplace.

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The piece argues that difference is rooted in economics as much as technology. Baby boomers moved from analog tools such as typewriters to digital systems such as word processors, and many see AI as another productivity leap that saves time and feels intuitive. For younger workers, though, AI can look less like a convenience than a direct threat to already fragile career paths.

When students booed him, Borchetta replied:

“Deal with it. Do something about it. It’s a tool, make it work for you.”

The article argues that this kind of response misses the broader context: older generations built careers in a labor market where human work carried more economic and social value, while younger generations are entering one marked by disruption, weakened job security, and constant reskilling.

It also points to a deeper issue than employment alone. Drawing on social psychologist Shoshana Zuboff, the piece says many young people feel they have little stake in a system that demands compliance while making them feel increasingly replaceable. AI and recommendation algorithms are presented not as optional tools, but as systems woven into daily life, education, and work.

That helps explain why Gen Z’s resistance matters. The article’s central point is that AI’s spread is often framed by executives as inevitable, even as younger people are asking for more agency over how much of their future is handed to algorithms.