Schools scrutinise Big Tech’s push into AI education
Parents, teachers and school districts are questioning whether AI companies should help shape classroom curricula, drawing lessons from the tech industry’s earlier influence over coding and school software.
Schools are taking a more sceptical view of the technology industry’s push to introduce artificial intelligence into classrooms, according to New York Times education technology reporter Natasha Singer. In reporting published by The Verge, Singer said AI companies were using a familiar pitch: AI skills would be essential for future employment, while the companies supplied schools with learning resources and curricula.
Singer’s book, Coding Kids, examines how technology companies expanded their role in education over the past 15 years. Apple and Microsoft developed curricula for Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles courses using tools including Swift and Minecraft, while Google expanded through low-cost Chromebooks and its Classroom app.
Technology companies also supported nonprofit initiatives such as Code.org and its Hour of Code campaign. Singer said those efforts helped embed companies’ products and software in schools, while the promise that coding skills would lead to high-paying jobs later came under pressure as entry-level coding work diminished.
She said the AI industry was now applying a similar approach, but faced more resistance from parents, teachers and school districts. New York City reportedly restricted AI use in elementary and middle schools for the coming school year, while Los Angeles announced a broader restriction that included high school students.
The reported measures come amid wider concerns about the effect of technology on learning and the role of companies in shaping what students are taught. Singer said parents wanted more than lessons on using technology, including education that helps students understand how companies influence behaviour and choices.
Singer said she was optimistic that schools were moving towards a broader technology curriculum—one that includes technical skills but also encourages students to question how software and AI are designed, use those tools productively and push back against them when necessary.
