“You are entering the world at an extraordinary moment,” NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang told graduates as he delivered the keynote at CMU’s 128th commencement ceremony on May 10, 2026. “A new industry is being born. A new era of science and discovery is beginning.” His message: this class’s career starts at the beginning of the AI revolution.
A New Industrial Era
Huang drew a direct line from starting his own career at the dawn of the PC revolution to graduates now starting theirs as AI takes hold, noting that every major computing shift — PCs, the internet, mobile, and cloud — led to this moment. He described AI as driving the largest technology infrastructure buildout in human history and a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reindustrialize America and restore the nation’s capacity to build.
Tasks vs. Purpose
A recurring theme was that AI automates tasks but elevates workers. Radiologists, for example, do not just read scans — they care for patients. AI can automate the scan reading while the radiologist focuses on the higher purpose. The way forward, Huang said, is to engage deeply with AI rather than retreat from it.
Advancing AI Responsibly
Huang struck a careful balance, emphasizing that such a massive effort needs a “clear-eyed” approach:
- Advance safely — scientists and engineers have a profound responsibility to push AI capability and AI safety together
- Create thoughtful policies — guardrails that protect society while allowing innovation to move forward
- Make AI broadly accessible — so the technology reaches everyone, not just a few
- Encourage everyone to engage
CMU’s Legacy
Huang also honored the host institution, calling Carnegie Mellon one of the true birthplaces of AI and robotics — from the Logic Theorist of the 1950s to the founding of the Robotics Institute in 1979. He closed with the university’s motto: “My heart is in the work. So put your heart in the work.”