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Vice-chancellors, deans, members of our university’s faculty, friends of ORT, dear graduates and your families. We are delighted to welcome you to this ceremony to recognize your hard work and dedication. Some of you are the first in your families to attend university; others are continuing a family tradition. For all of you, this is a day to be proud. And it is also a day to give thanks. To thank your families and those you consider part of your family. To thank all those who supported you, encouraged you, and inspired you to overcome the challenges of your academic journey. And we want to thank you for the trust you have placed in us; we hope we have lived up to your expectations.
Two years ago, we lost a great leader, our CEO, my mother, Charlotte de Grünberg. Her light has not faded; she continues to inspire us. She built a culture that guides us and a team that is like a family. Many of us owe her a great deal.
Dear graduates, graduation does not mean the end of the need to learn. Learning does not end with graduation because it is part of the never-ending process of personal growth. As Maimonides said, “There is no such thing as having learned enough.” In order to adapt to the changes of our new era of artificial intelligence, we will all have to keep learning constantly. In the age of artificial intelligence, ignorance is not a lack of knowledge. Ignorance is the failure to recognize the need to constantly relearn.
Many of you are probably thinking about your next steps. Don’t be afraid to hesitate—life is full of uncertainty. One of the most demanding skills a person can have is the ability to act in the face of uncertainty without becoming paralyzed. We live in a culture that values security—or the appearance of security. It views hesitation with suspicion and interprets doubt as weakness. Resist the pressure to voice an opinion before you’ve fully understood the issue. Think before you share something you haven’t read or haven’t fully grasped.
As you search for your future, don’t chase other people’s dreams. Follow the paths that feel important to you. As Jean-Paul Sartre said: “What matters is not doing what you want, but wanting what you do.” Trust yourselves, because if you don’t, others won’t trust you either. We have to take intellectual risks to discover our strengths. Don’t hide your mistakes from others, and especially don’t hide them from yourselves. Making mistakes is a natural consequence of trying something new. It’s a sign that we’re exploring, creating, and stepping outside our comfort zone. Allow yourselves to make mistakes, but demand that you bounce back. Don’t try to be perfect; strive to be resilient.
Always exercise your critical and self-critical thinking. Be wary of dogmas and revealed truths that seem to have an answer for everything. Reality is complex. Challenge yourselves to think deeply. Lead with integrity and respect. Seek a shared purpose, intellectual honesty, and loyalty. Leadership is not a position; it is an attitude. Always be willing to listen. Sometimes we think that a leader is distinguished by unforgettable speeches, but most of the time they are distinguished by their ability to listen.
Trust those who are called to lead. There is a profound moment in Jewish tradition when God entrusts Moses with a task that is more than challenging: leading his people to freedom. And Moses doubts himself. He asks God, “Why are you entrusting this to me? I am weak, I have doubts, I have never been a soldier, and I don’t know the geography.” And God lets him speak, but when Moses stops talking about his own limitations and begins to doubt the people, God rebukes him, because a leader may doubt himself, but he has no right to give up faith in those he is called to lead. And that is one of the highest definitions of leadership. It is not the one who ignores the flaws of his community, but the one who, knowing them, continues to believe in its potential. To lead is to hold onto that trust, the conviction that others can grow, overcome their weaknesses, and rise to the occasion of a greater task.
Dear graduates, you are graduating into a world in turmoil.
We Uruguayans, like the rest of the world, are facing major changes. An era lies ahead that may bring wealth and prosperity, but it will be one of rapid and dizzying change. The intensification of war, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, the emergence of artificial intelligence, and political intolerance make us feel threatened. The fears inspired by these changes prompt some to reflect and study, but lead others to live as if through a mirror, where values are perceived in reverse.
A world in which some feminist movements support regimes that oppress women, a world in which groups advocating for the rights of people with different sexual orientations speak out in favor of regimes that criminalize, imprison, and execute them. A world in which human rights organizations are led by countries where those rights do not exist. A world in which some media outlets support regimes where there is no freedom of the press.
Living through a mirror is a form of escapism; it offers an illusion of security in the face of change. But beyond the profound immorality of such behavior, there is a limit to how long one can live through a mirror. Reality always catches up with us, and we Uruguayans must have the courage to step out of the mirror. We have a rich tradition of coexistence. We must export civility, not import conflict. We must think for ourselves, not surrender to dominant narratives.
Keep in mind that a polarized society sacrifices intellectual honesty in the name of belonging. We reach a point where admitting that our tribe might make mistakes begins to be seen as a betrayal. Society begins to reward not those who think best, but those who are most willing to give up independent thought. Under these conditions, conversation becomes impossible, democracy rusts, society becomes tribalized, and citizenship is devalued. We must prevent the drift toward a society without dialogue. No country progresses by listening to monologues.
One of the greatest challenges facing your generation will be how to coexist with new forms of artificial intelligence. Until now, this has been the exclusive domain of humans. We are all fascinated by and, at the same time, frightened of artificial intelligence, especially because we fear it will replace us in our jobs. But it is not true that the more tasks artificial intelligence can perform, the less work humans will have. Humans are not going to become obsolete, because for now—and for quite some time to come—there are no machines with moral consciousness or capable of unexpected acts of genius, nor will there be. There are tasks for which humans remain indispensable or more efficient. And for many others, collaboration between humans and machines will be more efficient than machines acting alone.
Don’t try to do better what machines can do automatically. Cultivate your human side; that will be your competitive edge in the age of artificial intelligence. Craftsmanship cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence—at least not yet—but it is sometimes misunderstood. Craftsmanship is not limited to manual trades. In reality, the most important form of craftsmanship is intellectual—that is, original thinking rather than industrialized thinking. That is what will set you apart from machines that produce useful but uninspiring content, content that meets needs but does not shift paradigms.
Always make the effort to think deeply. Resist the temptation to outsource cognitive effort to artificial intelligence, which, ultimately, will only cause our cognitive abilities to atrophy. Strive to create, not merely repeat. Seek to understand, not just accumulate knowledge. Intelligence isn’t just about responding quickly; it’s about dealing with complexity. Not everything is simple, straightforward, superficially visible, understandable in 140 characters, or explainable in 20 seconds.
Dear graduates, as some of the most educated members of our society, you have opportunities, but also responsibilities. We must all feel a moral obligation to expand educational opportunities to more Uruguayans. Educational improvement that prevents a divide from forming between the most educated and everyone else. More education means more freedom, more prosperity, and more democracy. Sometimes we ask ourselves: What difference can I make as just one person? As Maimonides taught so eloquently, each of our actions counts. None of us is insignificant. Each of us can make a difference in making the world a better place.
Dear graduates, we wish you all the best. Find your path and pursue your ambitions, but whatever you do, wherever you are, know that ORT will always be your home. Thank you very much.