Graduates are booing AI at commencement. Polling is cratering. And infrastructure ambitions hang on public trust no one has earned yet. The Gist Younger audiences are pushing back. College graduates increasingly associate AI with job displacement and uncertainty rather than opportunity. Public perception now shapes AI growth. Infrastructure expansion, political support and long-term adoption increasingly depend on public trust. Messaging matters more than ever. AI leaders face growing pressure to communicate benefits responsibly while addressing fears about workforce disruption. To reach people between the ages of 18-25, advertisers have long spent disproportionate sums of money. Young people make choices and develop customer loyalty that last a lifetime. And when they develop a preference or perspective in that era, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to dislodge.…