Google plans to make artificial intelligence tools in its software for K-12 students unavailable by default early next year. School administrators will need to explicitly enable them, a change the company says responds to requests from educators and parents for greater control over children’s use of AI.
The policy comes with a trade-off: schools that restrict AI entirely will also lose access to Google Search. Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president for education, said search and AI are closely integrated. Students at schools that ban AI will see a message from their school saying search is unavailable, he said.
Google’s education products, including Gmail, Docs and Classroom, are widely used in K-12 schools, and Chromebooks are the most commonly issued student devices in U.S. schools. The company’s new approach means schools seeking to preserve student access to Search within Google’s ecosystem will have to allow its AI features.
Sources: The New York Times Technology.