Reynold Xin and Mike Murchison say there is space for students to reframe their relationship to AI.
Recently, young graduates at several post-secondary schools have booed commencement speakers who claim AI is changing the world. At the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall on Tuesday, two AI startup founders argued that while the backlash “makes sense,” they see space for students to reframe their relationship with AI.
The news: Databricks co-founder Reynold Xin and Ada CEO and co-founder Mike Murchison—both University of Toronto graduates—discussed how AI is disrupting entrepreneurship at an event hosted by their alma mater.
From the source: Xin said the AI sentiment divide between anti-AI content on Reddit and positivity among tech executives is “difficult to reconcile.”
“It is true that a lot of entry-level jobs, especially in software engineering, are being reduced or maybe even going away,” the chief architect at San Francisco-based Databricks said. But “rather than thinking about how this thing is going to fuck you over, you might as well spend more time thinking about how [you can]…use it to the maximum degree possible that actually gives [you] an edge in society.” Murchison agreed that it “makes complete sense that young people are feeling a high degree of stress about AI.” To the CEO of Toronto-based Ada, which makes AI customer service agents, AI presents a disruption to the typical path for early-career university students.
Following the thread: A cultural backlash against AI is growing within Gen Z, many of whom are now graduating into the workforce and are concerned their job prospects are threatened. In recent weeks, some of these fears have been made tangible as large US tech firms such as Intuit and Meta laid off thousands of workers.
Xin said these large-scale layoffs were “related more to the overhiring during the zero-interest rate era” of the pandemic rather than AI, although “AI is a great excuse,” he added. CTV News journalist Amanda Lang, who moderated the discussion, pushed back, saying these types of layoffs mostly occurred in 2023, but Xin insisted they are ongoing.
Final thought: Xin and Murchison seemed most optimistic about the future of using AI in business—particularly for entrepreneurs who face lower barriers to starting a company. One solution to anxiety around AI disrupting the job market, the founders suggested, is to create your own.
“It’s much easier for a single person or even a tiny team to create something so disruptive,” Xin said. “The easiest time in human history.”
BetaKit is the official media partner of Toronto Tech Week.
Feature image courtesy Madison McLauchlan for BetaKit.