On May 22, the UC Berkeley College of Computing, Data Science, and Society held two commencement ceremonies at the Greek Theatre to recognize more than 2,000 students graduating from the college with bachelor of arts degrees in computer science, data science and statistics.
Dean Jennifer Chayes opened the ceremonies by welcoming students, their families and guests. “This is an incredibly special day that our graduates and families have looked forward to for a long, long time,” she said.
“You have achieved an impressive feat, not only because you've completed a demanding curriculum, but also because you've done so during a time of historic change and challenge, and we know this has not been easy.”
In his address to the graduates, Michael I. Jordan outlined major challenges posed by the use of AI, including job displacement, increased inequality, the proliferation of fake AI-generated content, and the need for an overhaul of education. Jordan is the Pehong Chen Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and the Department of Statistics at UC Berkeley.
“The idea that chatbots can entirely replace humans is a mirage and even dangerous. When a human wants a real connection, they need something other than fluent text,” said Jordan. “I believe that there will continue to be jobs in which the possibility of deep human-human connection is a critical part of the job. These will not be going away, and there will be even more of them in the future.”
