Why is Ireland's Government cheerleading for privately owned AI?

As Eric Schmidt found out recently , ordinary people are not as keen on AI as the industry is. James Lawless should take note, writes Liz Carolan

'This new training programme will not strengthen the public’s view that the State is there to shape how our country changes as AI continues to creep in.' File picture

Something odd is happening this college graduation season. University commencement addresses, the gold standard of the American inspirational speech, have been meeting with boos and jeers. This happened to Google founder Eric Schmidt in Arizona last week, and to other business leaders at Universities in Florida and Tennessee.

The jeers appeared whenever the speakers mentioned artificial intelligence, and in viral videos Schmidt seems genuinely taken aback at the reaction. Why are the young, educated, and highly tech literate rejecting his exaltation of AI as the future?