Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak delivered a speech at Grand Valley State University’s graduation ceremony on May 2nd, drawing laughter and applause with his line: “You all have AI — Actual Intelligence.” He explained, “All my life, I’ve followed people trying to figure out how to build a brain — software, hardware, synaptic chips — and at one company, engineers actually found a way to create a brain: it took nine months.” He also encouraged graduates to “always try to be different; don’t follow millions of others down the same path.”
These remarks quickly went viral online, given the stark context: during the 2026 graduation season, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and real estate executive Gloria Caulfield faced boos after passionately advocating for AI in their respective speeches. Wozniak stood out as a rare tech industry speaker this year to receive applause instead, thanks to his pro-human-intelligence message.