Google is forcing school districts across the country to make a tough decision: accept artificial intelligence or risk losing search.
The company said on Tuesday that students who use Google software for their classes will only be able to use search if their school district opts in to using AI, The Associated Press reported.
The announcement came in a blog post called “Designing responsible AI for learning.”
The blog post said: “We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach. After listening to schools, teachers, leading researchers, and policymakers, we are now updating our approach to controls for Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search. Access to these products will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on.
“We’ll share more specifics with schools in the coming months ahead of the changes rolling out so they have time to prepare and enable a smooth transition. Our goal is simple: provide school leaders the control and confidence to use AI products in classrooms as they see fit.”
The AP explained that since search is integrated with AI, schools that opt out of AI would lose Google search.
Chris Phillips, Google vice president for education, said that if they don’t have access to search, “they’ll see a message from their school that indicates it’s not available,” The New York Times reported.
Former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Lina Khan, told the Times, that Google was using its “search monopoly to coerce schools” to force the adoption of AI.
She reminded the newspaper that Google has been found liable for violating antitrust laws.
“This latest move shows it remains unchastened,” she said. “As the public increasingly pushes back against the use of AI in schools,” she added, “Google is making clear it will punish those who don’t fall in line.”
The search tools are also being upgraded, including step-by-step guided learning so students don’t just skip to the answers, the blog said.
Google turned on AI features by default in August, the Times reported.