recently, nvidia founder and ceo jensen huang attended carnegie mellon university’s 2026 graduation ceremony and delivered a speech, encouraging this year’s graduates not to fear artificial intelligence. he emphasized that ai will bring positive impacts to humanity as a whole and that now is the best time to launch one’s career. at 61 years old, huang’s net worth is close to $186 billion. he recalled that when he graduated from oregon state university in 1984 and founded nvidia in 1993, the internet revolution was just taking off; today, the ai wave likewise holds vast new opportunities. he told the graduates that ai is narrowing the technology gap, enabling anyone to create valuable products, and that young people will face unprecedented opportunities in the coming years.
however, huang’s optimistic outlook stands in stark contrast to widespread public anxiety about ai. according to data from the pew research center, roughly 50% of americans believe that the negative impacts of ai adoption outweigh its benefits. this year, more than a dozen major companies have cited ai-driven efficiency gains as a key reason for layoffs, and by early 2026, the u.s. unemployment rate among recent graduates had surged to a four-year high.
meanwhile, warnings from some ai leaders have further fueled public concerns—for example, anthropic ceo dario amodei predicts that ai could eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs, while elon musk has suggested that humanity faces a “20% probability of extinction.” recently, huang has frequently appeared in public to refute pessimistic forecasts, urging ai leaders to speak cautiously, base their claims on evidence, and guard against an “omnipotent complex.” addressing carnegie mellon university’s graduating class, he concluded: “ai is unlikely to replace you. but someone who knows how to use ai better than you are likely to replace you.”
