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Google criticized by NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani following AI policy change: 'Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools'
Mamdani and others have called out Google's decision to disable search functionality for schools who opt out of its AI tools.
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Saying that it believes "schools should have control over AI in their classrooms," Google announced today that it will turn off access to its AI tools for K-12 student accounts. But there's a catch: Along with those AI tools, it will also disable Google search functionality.
In a blog post entitled "Designing responsible AI for learning," Chris Phillips, Google's vice president and general manager of education, extolled the virtues of AI tools in "productive struggle," which he described as "enabling students to be actively challenged without getting so overwhelmed that they give up."
"That's the philosophy behind Guided Learning," Philips wrote. "In Gemini, Guided Learning acts as an interactive study tool that coaches students through the process of problem solving through open-ended questions and step-by-step breakdowns. Our research shows that Guided Learning leads to measurable learning gains for students, and we're now bringing Guided Learning to more products." Those products include Google Search and Google Classroom.
"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," Phillips continued. "Access to these products will be entirely off for K-12 student accounts until school administrators explicitly turn them on."
It sounds like Google Search on student accounts can be re-enabled separately, but that also ushers AI back into the equation: Google said in the update that it is "building Guided Learning capabilities into Search for student accounts to help them work through problems without skipping straight to answers." In other words, there is no search functionality on these accounts without AI intrusion.
Speaking to the New York Times, Phillips said "search and AI are deeply integrated," and confirmed that schools can't have one without the other: Students at schools that have turned off Google's AI tools "will not have access to search, and they'll see a message from their school that indicates it's not available."
Phillips presents the policy as responsiveness and responsibility on Google's part, but the reaction from educators is not entirely positive. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten told NBC that "Google has prioritized its business interests over the education of our children," adding, "Instead of working with teachers and parents to uphold privacy and ensure their tools are safe and useful, it throws the baby out with the bathwater and bans access to the tools altogether."
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