The Disappeared Ilya Appears at Graduation Speech: How to Survive in the AI Era, This is My Rule

Organizer: Quantum Bit

After being silent for more than a year, the missing Ilya Sutskever has finally appeared!

He returned to the podium where he graduated from university 20 years ago - delivering a speech as an honorary doctorate recipient. He said this was his "fourth degree" obtained from his alma mater, the University of Toronto.

He didn't mention the progress of entrepreneurship or the AGI timeline; instead, he focused more on how to better survive and develop in the world of AI.

One day, AI will be able to do everything we can do now.

His mentality is to accept reality itself, not to dwell on past regrets, but to focus on improving the present.

It is worth mentioning that this is actually his first appearance since leaving OpenAI. His latest tweet is still a congratulatory message for last year's Nobel Prize, and even earlier was his announcement about starting a business.

This honorary Doctor of Science degree awarded by his alma mater is to recognize his foundational work and global influence as a computer scientist and AI pioneer, as well as his outstanding contributions as an advocate for safe and responsible AI.

Although it was only a 10-minute graduation speech, it still inspired netizens.

He finally appeared, he walked out of the SSI cave!! He is still alive!

Based on the premise of not changing the original meaning and conforming to the Chinese context, DeepSeek has made the following arrangements.

Ilya's Graduation Speech Full Text

Hello everyone, I am very glad to be here. Thank you all for meticulously organizing the event, arranging the ceremony, and granting me this honorary degree. This honor is of great significance.

Twenty years ago today, I received my bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto in this very hall. And at this moment, this is the fourth degree I have obtained from my alma mater.

The ten years spent here have been incredibly wonderful. I completed my undergraduate studies and gained a lot; then I pursued graduate studies, which were equally exciting. I was able to delve deeply into my interests and ultimately became a researcher. It was a great fortune to study under Professor Hinton. He teaches at this university, which is a significant opportunity in my life. For this, I am deeply grateful.

I firmly believe that there is no better path to learning than this; it has allowed me to grow, mature, and ultimately become a scientist.

And, when I was a student at the University of Toronto, the AI research we did here was the best in the world, with the most revolutionary ideas and the most exciting work. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate and contribute while still in graduate school. That was a long time ago, though.

I understand that in a graduation speech, people should offer some wise advice. I will say a little, but just a little, because this speech will be a bit different.

I want to share a useful mindset: accept reality as it is, do not indulge in past regrets, and focus on improving the present.

With this mindset, everything becomes much easier. The reason I mention it is that it is too difficult to achieve. People tend to get entangled in past wrong decisions, unfortunate encounters, or so-called injustices, and waste too much energy on them. However, a more effective way is to recognize the current situation and think, "What is the optimal action next?" I find that whenever I do this, everything flows much more smoothly.

But it's hard, really hard. It's an endless battle with your own emotions. That's why I'm mentioning it to you. Maybe some of you will adopt it yourself. It's a reminder to do your best to be in that mindset. It's also a reminder to myself. It's a constant struggle.

However, putting that aside, the reason this speech will not be the most traditional graduation speech is that some unusual things are happening right now. All of you are about to leave, and we are all in an unprecedented and very special time.

People might often say this, but I think this time it's real.

The reason this time is real is because of AI, right? Obviously, I mean, from what I know, today's AI has significantly changed the meaning of being a student. Of course, the impact of AI goes far beyond this. What will happen to the work we do? It has already begun to change in some unknown and unpredictable ways. Some jobs may feel the impact soon, while others may feel it a bit later.

Take today's AI as an example. You can see what AI can do on Twitter, check out what people are saying, and you might feel a little bit of it. You might be thinking, hey, which skills are still useful? Which skills will become less useful? So, these questions will be in your mind.

Therefore, it can be said that the current challenge is: how will it affect work and our careers?

But the real challenge that AI poses is that it's truly unprecedented, extremely severe. The future will be very different from today. We've all seen AI, we've all talked to computers, and computers have responded to us, and that's new. Computers didn't do that in the past, but now they do. You speak to a computer, it understands you and responds to you, you can use your voice to communicate, and you can write some code. It's crazy, but there's so much more it can't do, and it's so lacking.

So, it can be said that it still needs to catch up in many aspects. But it is already thought-provoking enough. It is good enough for you to imagine: well, in a few years - some say three years, some say five years, ten years, opinions vary (predicting the future is a bit difficult) - but regardless of how fast or slow, AI will definitely continue to improve.

One day, AI will be able to do everything we can do now. Not just some things, but all things. Anything I can learn, anything any of you can learn, AI can do.

By the way, how do we know this? How can I be so sure? The reason for this is that we all have a brain, and the brain is a biological computer. So why can't a digital computer, a digital brain, do the same thing? This is the core logic of AI's eventual omnipotence: human intelligence is rooted in biological computers (brains), and digital computers have the potential to do the same.

So you can start asking yourselves: what will happen when computers can handle all of our jobs? This is a very big and dramatic question. Now, think about it for a moment, and you might feel like: wow, this is a bit tense. But this is really just part of the tension, because what else will happen? What do we humans collectively want to do with these AIs? Do more work? Develop the economy? Conduct research and development? Do AI research? Then, the pace of progress will become extremely fast for a period of time.

These are such extreme and unimaginable things. So now, I am trying to bring you a little into that mental space – that extreme and radical future created by AI. But it is indeed very difficult to truly understand and believe on an emotional level. Even I am struggling to understand. However, logic seems to suggest that this is very likely to happen.

So, in such a world, what should a person do? There's a famous saying that goes: "You may not take interest in politics but politics will take interest in you." This saying applies equally to AI, and perhaps even more so.

I think just by using AI and seeing what the most advanced AI can do today, you get an intuition. This intuition will become even stronger as AI continues to advance in the next year, two, and three years. A lot of the things we're talking about now are going to be much more real and less illusory. At the end of the day, no essay or explanation can compare to what we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears.

Especially for AI, how can we ensure that extremely intelligent and super-intelligent AIs are consistent in their words and actions? This will be an extremely profound question. I am condensing a lot of information in a very short time here.

But overall, by focusing on the capabilities of AI and not ignoring it when the critical moment arrives, this will generate the necessary energy to overcome the enormous challenges posed by AI. In a sense, the challenges brought by AI are the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. Overcoming them will also bring the greatest rewards.

Whether you like it or not, your life will be greatly influenced by AI. So, pay attention to it, take note of it, and then generate the energy to solve the problems that come along with it; this will be the main task.

I'll stop here, thank you very much everyone.