GOOGLE SPENDS 1 BILLION ON AI IN EDUCATION

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google on
Wednesday announced a three-year, $1 billion commitment to provide artificial
intelligence training and tools to U.S. higher education institutions and nonprofits.
More than 100 universities have signed on to the initiative so far, including some of the
nation’s largest public university systems such as Texas A&M and the University of North
Carolina.
The billion-dollar figure also includes the value of paid AI tools, such as an advanced
version of the Gemini chatbot, which Google will give to college students for free.
Google hopes to expand the program to every accredited nonprofit college in the U.S. and
is discussing similar plans in other countries, Senior Vice President James Manyika said in
an interview.
He declined to specify how much Google is earmarking in direct funds to external
institutions relative to footing its own cloud and subscription bills.
The announcement comes as rivals like OpenAI, opens new tab, Anthropic and
Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab have made similar pushes around AI in education as the
technology pervades society. Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab in July pledged $4 billion
to bolster AI in education globally.
By evangelizing their products to students, tech firms further stand to win business deals
once those users enter the workforce.
A growing body of research has mapped concerns around AI’s role in education, from
enabling cheating to eroding critical thinking, prompting some schools to consider bans.
Manyika said Google had not faced resistance from administrators since it began to plot its
education initiative earlier this year, but “many more questions” about AI-related concerns
remain.
“We’re hoping to learn together with these institutions about how best to use these tools,”
he said, adding that the insights could help shape future product decisions.