Well， graduates， I think it，s different today. You，re， quite simply， teaching us. This generation-your generation-is the first fully connected generation the world has ever known. What，s the first thing you do when you get up? Right? Check your phone? Your laptop? Read some email， comb through your social networks? I，m awake， here I am. You are connected， you，re online … Some of you are probably texting your friends right now. Tweeting this speech. Changing your status. Smile， you，re on camera. There，s this joke about the college kid getting mugged， who says， “Hold on-let me update my status， letting my friends know I，m getting mugged， then you can have my phone.” That didn，t happen， but it，s also telling-a stark depiction of just how essential technology has become to your generation，s identity and your ability to connect with the world.
Identity and connection-concepts as old as humanity itself-make up so much of what we are， who we are now. They shape our times， define the human condition. Identity and connection-it is your task to take those timeworn concepts， spin them around， reinvigorate them， make them fresh and new and exciting. BU has built the platform from which you can do that. I know it，s daunting. It，s not a great economy to be walking off this stage into. I know all this. But you have an advantage-a competitive edge-you have an innate mastery of technology， an ability to build and foster connections that no generation before you ever possessed. It，s a very， very special skill …
People bemoan a generation who grew up living life in front of screens， always connected to something or someone. Those people are wrong. The fact that we are all connected now is a blessing， not a curse， and we can solve many problems in the world as a result. Not only is it an advantage you have； it，s a responsibility you carry. Today， there are 54 wars and conflicts going on. It，s terrible. 1.5 billion people live on less than 1 a day， and hundreds of millions of children will go to bed hungry tonight. It，s terrible. Nearly half the world，s people don，t live under democratic governments-the rights we all enjoy are a rarity， they，re not a norm. And when it comes to the Internet， we think everyone， is online-and all of us are online now. But only 1 billion people have smartphones， and only 2 billion have access to the web today. For most of the world， Internet cafes are far-off digital oases in technological deserts. They don，t have access. But in this century， there is a chance for change on the horizon. The spread of mobile phones and new forms of connectivity offers us the prospect of connecting everybody. When that happens， connectivity can revolutionize every aspect of society-politically， socially， economically. To connect the world is to free the world， I say. If we get this right， then we can fix all the world，s most pressing problems …to beam bright rays of hope to millions who can see only a flicker. You have that power， right there， in your pockets right now.
Now， here，s the deal: Yes， it，s true， we have all this knowledge literally at our fingertips. But， that just because we know much more than we used to doesn，t mean our problems just go away.The future doesn，t just happen. It，s not etched or written or coded anywhere. There，s no algorithm or formula that says something will do X or Y to occur. Technology doesn，t work on its own. It，s just a tool. You are the ones who harness its power. And that requires innovation and entrepreneurship.
Innovation is disruptive； one thing I，ll tell you: you know you are innovating when people are worried about you! Graduates， please make people worry-not your parents. Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of a new economy， and a more prosperous society-the engine that keeps communities growing. Two-thirds of the new jobs created are in small businesses， and you all should try now to create a small business… or be part of one… and， of course， I would recommend you use all the products Google has to offer to set it up.
You all have a chance to make an original contribution. Don，t just be a shepherd following somebody else，s vision and ideas-new models， new forms， new thinking-that，s what we need from you. You don，t need to become an aid worker or a teacher (though， I obviously applaud those who do). You don，t need to be an engineer (though， I，m pretty sure I，d support that， too). Everyone-all of you-can make their mark by creating new standards of brilliance and innovation. And， those standards can spread-can scale-they can scale in ways once unimaginable. The collective intelligence of our society， our version of the Borg， is really quite different. Think of this as a new society， with shared norms and values， that crosses continents and unites all of us. The empowerment of each of us empowers all of us； and the distinctive feature of your new world is that you can be unique while being completely connected-never been possible before-a true fulfillment of the American Dream. You see， computers can do amazing things. Those things in your pockets-they contain power inside them that your proud parents， your grandparents in the audience never could have possibly imagined. These computers， they have speed. They have memory. They have intricately complicated wiring and unfathomably complex circuitry. But here，s one thing they don，t have. What they don，t have-is heart.
All of these connections you forge-the digital ties that bind our humanity together-that，s not possible without technology. But it，s also not possible without you， without a heart. You have the heart. And the future will not beat without you. Now， don，t get me wrong: I believe fully in the power of technology to change the world for the better. And I believe even more fully in the ability of your generation to use that power to great effect-to rule technology. But you can，t let technology rule you.