Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, criticized tech moguls for hypocritical and grandiose warnings about AI that are alienating Americans during a time of workforce opportunity. From Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Smith said, "Nobody knows for sure, but let's not panic." In a new paper, Smith wrote that AI being booed at this spring's commencements should be a "powerful wake-up call for the tech sector," adding, "Hopefully, leaders across our industry will listen and seek to learn from this reaction." Smith accused tech leaders of botching the conversation with hypocritical warnings, citing Anthropic's call for a global pause, and said, "If somebody says, 'This technology is so powerful that we need a global treaty to slow it down,' then I would say: Then take your foot off the accelerator yourself if you think it's moving too fast." He noted that this year's graduates, who were in high school during COVID, are being told AI "is going to happen to them, not for them." Smith stated, "This is going to unfold over 25 years, not two-and-a-half," and added, "Tech leaders tend to repeat two mistakes. One is: They overestimate the impact of technology, especially the pace at which it will arrive. And second: The tech leaders often underestimate people." He concluded, "Let's use AI to help people do more and not replace us."