Google CEO Sundar Pichai says graduates booing AI will shape its future — and live with its consequences

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…