OSU commencement speaker Chris Pang was using ayahuasca when he wrote his hair-raising speech.

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by David Propper

University graduates were not pleased with this hallucinatory speech.

The Ohio State University commencement speaker gave a disgusting speech to graduates Sunday. That included taunting him, touting Bitcoin, and leading the crowd in two awkward, off-kilter choruses: “Some of the help from AI (Ayahuasca Intelligence).” Thanks to that.”

Social entrepreneur, investor, and alumnus Chris Pan delivered an unusual and memorable keynote address to more than 12,000 students, their families, and friends. This keynote speech was later admitted to have been written with the help of psychedelics.

The roughly 17-minute speech began uneventfully, as he encouraged the graduates to stand up.

“I want to start by getting our energy moving and our energy flowing,” said Pan, who graduated from OSU in 1999. “So if you can, please stand up and follow my movements.” .

Pang then led the audience in a rendition of the 1993 song “What's Up” by Four Non Blondes, as school leaders and faculty waved and waved their arms behind him. .

He then guided the graduates through breathing exercises that Navy SEALs use to stay calm in stressful situations. This is probably to prepare them for the harsh economic conditions they may soon face in the real world.

This was a perfect sequence for Pan to talk about cryptocurrencies.

“So while it may seem controversial, I recommend keeping an open mind for now. I think Bitcoin is a very misunderstood asset class,” Pan says. There was a chorus of boos.

Mr. Pan tried to overcome noticeable heckles before pulling off his trick with the help of OSU President Walter E. Carter Jr.

The 64-year-old college tycoon's wig was blown away by some in a small black bag that Pan turned into Bitcoin.

“I learned some magic last week to help me get through this moment,” Pan admitted happily. “Thank you.”

He then promised to give everyone in the crowd a free bracelet “as an apology for listening to me talk about Bitcoin.”

Pan then spoke about how young people can heal the world's divisions, before leading the Class of 2024 in another musical, “This Little Light of Mine.”

Part of the strangeness of Pan's speech can be traced back to what he used to write it.

The Australia-based Alcohol and Drug Foundation said in a LinkedIn post cited by the Columbus Dispatch that Pan wrote the post while taking ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic drug from South America, before Sunday. Stated.

“This week, with the help of AI (Ayahuasca Intelligence), I wrote a commencement speech for 60,000 graduates and their families at Ohio State University next Sunday,” he wrote in the post. wrote. “We are in difficult times and needed something special and heartfelt. (I tried chatGPT, but it wasn't very good).

Pan graduated from Ohio State University in 1999 and received a master's degree from Harvard Business School. He is the founder of his MyIntent.org, whose mission is to foster “meaningful conversations and positive energy,” according to LinkedIn.

The company also sells custom-made jewelry, but its website says, “We are not a jewelry company, we are a service project.''

In response to an inquiry from WCMH, an Ohio State spokesperson declined to comment on the reference to Bitcoin, but said the university did not approve the speaker's speech before the ceremony.

A press release about the school's keynote address sidestepped some of the more bizarre moments with the headline, “Ohio State alumnus Chris Pan encouraged graduates to set goals that make a difference.”