The atmosphere changed at Stanford University's 2026 graduation ceremony when about 200 students started protesting as soon as Google CEO Sundar Pichai came on stage. Students waved Palestinian flags, chanted slogans and some even whistled. Many students were seen wearing keffiya scarves in support of Palestine. However, even during this time Pichai continued his speech. Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he said that this was only the second convocation speech of his life.
As soon as Pichai was introduced, some students got up from their seats and left the venue. In the video that surfaced on social media, students were seen going out wearing graduation gowns and caps. During this, sounds of hooting were also heard, while Sundar Pichai continued his speech. Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he said that this was only the second convocation speech of his life.
This protest was organized by student organizations like 'Students for Justice in Palestine' and 'No Tech for Apartheid'. The protesters were protesting Google's alleged contracts with the Israeli Defense Forces, the US Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The students' protest was specifically regarding 'Project Nimbus'. This is a cloud computing deal worth about $1.2 billion between Google and the Israeli government. Palestine supporters allege that Google's technology is helping Israel through this project, against which they lodged a protest.
The interesting thing is that Sundar Pichai did not talk much about Artificial Intelligence or the big discussions of the tech industry in his address. He focused on giving life and career related lessons to the students. Pichai said that people were advising him what not to say on stage. To lighten the atmosphere, he also joked about his name. In his speech, he explained the importance of positive thinking and looking at situations from the right perspective. While sharing the experience of his early days in California, he said that sometimes changing our thinking also changes the way we look at the world.
Outside the Stanford event, the discussion about AI and employment in the tech industry continues to intensify. In recent months, many big tech leaders have warned that the increasing use of automation and AI could impact entry-level jobs. Many companies have also cited AI as a reason while reducing the number of employees. However, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disagreed with this thinking and said that it is not right to link every layoff to AI. Sundar Pichai has already said that AI is going to bring a big change in the world of technology and today's students will be the main people in the future to develop this technology and understand its impact.
