Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin candidate for governor, tells college graduates: ‘Find a job that AI can’t replace’

As concerns over artificial intelligence continue to mount, Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany says oh well. 

Seen across the country, college graduates have been booing commencement speakers who praise the advancements of AI. 

Tiffany, a U.S. congressman, was asked by TMZ on Capitol Hill on May 21 about college graduates and their prospects for obtaining a job that won’t be eliminated by AI. 

“Find a job that AI can’t replace, that would be my message,” Tiffany said. 

Earlier this week, Meta, the technology company that owns Facebook, cut thousands of jobs, 10% of the workforce, as it pivots towards more AI use. 

There’s a debate about whether advancements in technology will lead to mass layoffs, but some people, like Tiffany, argue that AI will simply improve jobs and that young people should adapt their skills accordingly.

“There are gonna be a lot of jobs that are gonna be in high demand,” Tiffany said. “And make sure you know, going into college, what is going to be in demand.”

Tiffany touted President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” last year, which he said allows for Pell Grants to be used for technical college. “Because I think you’re gonna find more and more young people that are gonna want to get technical skills that AI can’t replace,” he said.

The TMZ cameraman then asks the 68-year-old what he would study if he just started college. 

“That’s a good question. I don’t know what I’d do,” Tiffany said. 

“I can understand why there’s some anxiety if you put your heart and soul into a career, especially a white collar career, that maybe some of those jobs are gonna go away. I understand that anxiety. But this is America and I would tell these young people there’s gonna be so much opportunity and you’re smart enough to adjust and find that opportunity that is in America because we’ve always been able to have opportunity in this great country.”

Tiffany is the only viable candidate running for the Republican nomination. Former Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes, a candidate in the Democratic primary, pounced on the opportunity to criticize Tiffany’s remarks. 

“Hard to think of someone more out-of-touch than a DC politician telling college students to just ‘find a job that AI can’t replace,’” Barnes said in a statement. 

“Wisconsinites are already dealing with the consequences of Trump’s massive price hikes that Tiffany has voted for 100% of the time—and Tiffany’s answer to working families losing jobs to AI is to just deal with it. 

“Just this week alone, Meta cut thousands of jobs to replace them with AI while the billionaires who run these companies just get richer and richer. 

“When I am Governor, I will fight for real accountability and consequences, including stripping tax breaks from any company that lays off workers just to replace them with AI and forcing billionaires to pay their fair share.”