Huang Renxun's CMU Commencement Speech: The 60-Year Computing Paradigm Has Ended, AI Will Not Replace You, But You Will Replace Those Who Use AI

According to Perceiving AI monitoring, Huang Renxun delivered a keynote speech at the Carnegie Mellon University's 128th graduation ceremony, where he was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree. He posed a core judgment to over 5800 graduates: the 60-year-long computing paradigm has come to an end. From humans writing software to machine learning, from CPUs executing instructions to GPUs running neural networks, a new industry of "mass-produced intelligence" is emerging.

In his speech, Huang Renxun directly addressed the anxiety about AI replacing humans. He acknowledged that tasks such as coding and image analysis are indeed being automated, but the demand for software engineers and radiologists is on the rise, as AI amplifies human capabilities rather than replacing humans. He put it more sharply: AI is highly unlikely to replace you, but someone who is better at using AI than you might.

He also recounted the rare story of NVIDIA almost going bankrupt in its early years. After signing a chip contract with Sega, NVIDIA realized that its architecture was fundamentally unworkable. Huang Renxun had to approach the Sega CEO, admit the product could not be delivered, request to terminate the contract, and brazenly ask for continued payment. He described it as the most humiliating thing he had ever done, but the Sega CEO agreed. That money kept NVIDIA alive and forced the development of the chip design approach still used today.

In his concluding remarks to the graduates, Huang Renxun called out that the establishment of AI infrastructure will be the largest-scale technological infrastructure investment in human history and an opportunity for the U.S. to reindustrialize. He quoted CMU's motto "My heart is in the work" and told the Class of 2026: Get moving, don't just walk.