Google is playing defense Tuesday after a political backlash to its new policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
In a blog post titled “Designing Responsible AI for Learning,” Google announced that it is introducing AI into its Classroom offering with a product called Guided Learning. The New York Times published an article saying the company would stop researching schools that completely reject AI.
Following the Times article, prominent left-wing politicians, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, expressed outrage on social media.
“Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools,” Mamdani wrote on X. Sanders wrote that “Google is threatening schools,” calling the policy “extortion.”
Google responded later that day. In an article on X, the company said its new policy aims to give schools more choice over how students interact with AI. Google said its Gemini chatbot, Gemini Notebook and search are disabled by default and that “schools are in control”, with the ability to enable them as they see fit.
“We’re also updating search for schools to make it better for learning,” Google wrote. “Specifically, AI Mode and AI Previews will provide step-by-step guided learning through problems, so students don’t get quick answers on school assignments. »
The company’s message does not explicitly address the claim that access to research requires the use of AI. However, Chris Phillips, vice president of education at Google, told the Times that “search and AI are deeply integrated.”
A Google spokesperson referred CNBC to Post X when asked for comment.
Google’s broader practices have come under fire in recent years, with the company losing antitrust lawsuits over its search and advertising businesses. Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, has aggressively pursued Google and other tech giants, including Meta And Amazon.
Khan said in an article on X on Tuesday that Google’s new AI for learning policy highlights “the danger of allowing an unregulated monopoly to control an essential service.”
It’s the latest controversy surrounding the impact of technology on children and the role major internet companies play in spreading information.
In August, Meta reached a historic $16.7 billion settlement in its child safety lawsuit after a number of attorneys general accused the company of misrepresenting the extent of harm to children’s mental health caused by apps like Facebook and Instagram.
The same month, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens after state attorneys general launched an investigation into the company’s security practices, with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, filing a lawsuit in June.
The nonprofit Common Sense Media recently gave Google’s AI previews an “unacceptable risk” rating. Last month, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., launched an investigation into Google’s push of AI into classrooms.
Google introduced AI Previews as a search feature in May 2024.
— CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos contributed to this report.
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