Biden to Air Force graduates: The world is ‘changing rapidly’

President Biden on Thursday celebrated the Air Force Academy 2023 and warned that the new graduates were entering a rapidly evolving world defined by Russian aggression, tensions with China and advances in technology.

“The world you’re graduating into is not only changing rapidly, the pace of change is accelerating as well,” Biden said in a commencement speech in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

“We’re seeing proliferating global challenges from Russia’s aggression and brutality in Europe to our competition with China, and a whole hell of a lot in between,” Biden told the airmen and Guardians, who will join the Air Force and Space Force, respectively. “From growing instability to food insecurity to natural disasters, all of which are being made worse by the existential threat of climate change.”

Biden also pointed to the role of emerging technology like 3D printing and artificial intelligence (AI), which he said could change the nature of conflicts with other nations. He recalled meeting with leading scientists in the Oval Office recently to discuss the issue of artificial intelligence, saying some were “worried that AI can actually overtake human thinking.”

The new graduates will enter the service at a time when the U.S. has played a key role in providing military aid to Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion. Biden called the Air Force and Space Force the “backbone” of efforts to provide assistance to Ukrainians.

The president admonished Russian aggression and spoke about the importance of U.S. leadership in maintaining a united front in support of Ukraine with NATO allies. He vowed U.S. support for Ukraine “will not waver.”

On China, Biden reiterated that the U.S. seeks competition, not conflict, with Beijing.

“The world stands at an inflection point … the decisions we make today are going to determine what the world looks like decades from now,” Biden said. “No graduating class gets to choose the world into which they graduate.”

Thursday’s speech marked the second commencement address Biden delivered this graduation season. He spoke last month at Howard University’s commencement ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Vice President Harris last Saturday delivered the commencement speech to cadets at West Point, becoming the first woman to do so.