Google CEO and Stanford graduate Sundar Pichai faces student protests at university commencement ceremony | Video | Today’s news
Stanford University’s commencement ceremony on Sunday was disrupted when a group of students walked out during Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s speech. Videos circulating on social media showed a large number of students leaving the stadium in their graduation gowns and caps as Pichai continued his speech.
According to a New York Post report, several students chanted “Free, Free Palestine”.
“I have to warn you all, this is only the second commencement speech I’ve ever given. The first one was literally in my backyard,” Pichai is heard saying.
Pichai, a Stanford graduate, faced protests from some alumni over Google’s contract with the Israeli government.
The protest centered on the Nimbus project
While Pichai largely avoided artificial intelligence during his keynote speech — despite the topic often drawing criticism at public events — he faced protests against Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus.
Project Nimbus is a $1.2 billion cloud computing and AI contract awarded by the Israeli government to Google and Amazon. Stanford Students for Justice in Palestine announced the walkout several weeks ago, claiming the project supports Israeli government operations amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Pichai’s message focused on optimism
Rather than AI, Pichai focused his remarks on optimism.
“Choose optimism,” he told the students at graduation. “It’s easy to look at the news of the day and think that we live in uniquely challenging times. For me, it’s helpful to remember that each generation has faced hardships in its own way. We can’t choose the world we move into, but we can choose how we frame our circumstances.”
Stanford graduate returns as keynote speaker
Pichai, who earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Stanford University in 1995, was selected to be the keynote speaker at the university’s 135th commencement ceremony on June 14 earlier this year.
Pichai declines to answer questions about the protest
Later, as he was leaving Stanford Stadium, a BBC reporter approached him and asked if he had any reaction to the student protest. Pichai declined to comment and continued walking without responding.
“Mr. Pichai, any response to today’s protesters?” the reporter could be heard asking. However, Pichai turned away and ignored the question.
After leaving the ceremony, many students attended a separate rally known as the “People’s Commencement,” with Mahmoud Khalil as the keynote speaker, according to SFGate.
Khalil was detained by US immigration authorities for more than 100 days in connection with his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University in 2024.