Education
Google to invest $1 billion in AI education, elevating competition with Microsoft and OpenAI
A recent survey reveals a significant increase in student use of AI tools for academic purposes
Alphabet’s Google has unveiled a substantial commitment of $1 billion over three years to deliver artificial intelligence (AI) training and tools to higher education institutions and nonprofits across the United States.
So far, over 100 universities have joined this initiative, including some of the nation’s largest public university systems, such as Texas A&M and the University of North Carolina.
Participating institutions may benefit from cash funding and resources, including cloud computing credits aimed at supporting AI training for students and facilitating research on AI-related subjects.
This billion-dollar investment also encompasses the value of premium AI tools, such as an enhanced version of the Gemini chatbot, which Google plans to distribute to college students free of charge.
Rival efforts in AI integration
Google aspires to extend this program to all accredited nonprofit colleges in the U.S. and is contemplating similar initiatives in other countries, as noted by Senior Vice President James Manyika during an interview. He refrained from detailing the amount Google is allocating in direct funds to external institutions compared to covering its own cloud and subscription expenses.
This announcement arrives at a time when competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Amazon are making analogous efforts to integrate AI into education, as the technology increasingly permeates society. In July, Microsoft committed $4 billion to enhance AI in education on a global scale.
By promoting their products to students, tech companies also position themselves to secure business contracts once these users transition into the workforce.
A growing body of research has highlighted concerns regarding AI’s impact on education, from facilitating cheating to diminishing critical thinking, prompting some schools to contemplate bans. Manyika indicated that Google has not encountered pushback from administrators since it commenced planning its education initiative earlier this year, but acknowledged that “many more questions” about AI-related concerns still linger.
“We’re hoping to learn together with these institutions about how best to use these tools,” he remarked, emphasizing that the insights gained could inform future product development decisions.
Read more: MEA, Europe edTech market size to reach $120 billion by 2027
Rapid rise of AI in education
Recent developments in AI education reveal that the integration of AI tools in academia is accelerating rapidly. According to a 2025 student survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), student use of generative AI has surged, with 92 percent of students now using AI tools in some form, up from 66 percent in 2024. Many students use AI for explaining concepts, summarizing articles, and research suggestions, though 18 percent admitted to including AI-generated text directly in their coursework. The survey highlights a growing demand for institutional support in developing AI skills, though only 36 percent of students reported receiving such support. This indicates a critical gap between AI adoption and educational infrastructure that institutions need to address for effective and ethical AI integration in learning environments.
Moreover, OpenAI, one of Google’s competitors, is leading an initiative called the National Academy for AI Instruction, backed by major tech firms and teachers’ unions, aiming to train 400,000 K-12 educators across the U.S. by 2030. This highlights a collective effort across the education sector to prepare both teachers and students for a future where AI literacy is essential. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Elevate program, with a $4 billion investment over five years, aims to train 20 million people globally in AI skills through a unified platform offering courses across various competency levels and partnering with educational and labor organizations.
These initiatives are supported by data indicating that the global EdTech market, driven by AI-powered tools, is projected to reach $404 billion by 2025. Countries leading in investments include the U.S., China, and the U.K., with AI applications spanning adaptive learning, administration, and student engagement.
Australia could use a range of technologies to implement its social media ban for under-16s but all have risks or shortcomings, a report has found.
The government says its ban, which comes into effect in December, is designed to limit the harmful impacts of social media. The policy has been touted as a world-first and is being watched closely by leaders globally.
Under the new laws, platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent Australian children from creating accounts on their sites, and deactivate existing ones.
Though the move is popular with many parents, experts have raised concerns over data privacy and the accuracy of age verification technology.
The federal government commissioned the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme to test the ways Australia could enforce the ban, and its final report was published on Sunday.
It looked at a variety of methods – including formal verification using government documents, parental approval, or technologies to determine age based on facial structure, gestures, or behaviours – and found all were technically possible.
“But we did not find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases, nor did we find solutions that were guaranteed to be effective in all deployments,” it said.
Verification using identity documents was cited as the most accurate method, but the report identified concerns that platforms may keep this data longer than required and was anticipating sharing it with regulators, both of which would leave users’ privacy at risk.
Australia – like much of the world – has in recent years seen a series of high-profile data breaches, including several where sensitive personal information was stolen and sold or published.
Facial assessment technology was 92% accurate for people aged 18 or over, but there is a “buffer zone” – about two to three years either side of 16 – in which is it is less accurate. The report said this would lead to false positives, clearing children for accounts, and false negatives, barring users who should be allowed.
There are also privacy and accuracy concerns with parental approval methods, it said.
It recommended that the methods should be “layered” to create the most robust system, and highlighted that many of the technology providers were looking at ways to address circumvention, through things like document forgeries and VPNs (virtual private networks) which obscure the user’s country.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said there was “no one-size-fits-all solution”, that the report showed age checks could be “private, efficient and effective”.
“These are some of the world’s richest companies. They are at the forefront of AI. They use the data that we give them for a bevy of commercial purposes. I think it is reasonable to ask them to use that same data and tech to keep kids safe online,” she told reporters on Monday.
“There is no excuse for social media platforms not to have a combination of age assurance methods in their platforms ready for 10 December.”
Under the ban, tech companies can fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they do not take “reasonable steps” to bar those aged under 16 from holding accounts. These steps are still to be defined.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube are among the platforms affected.
Polling indicates most Australian adults support banning social media for children under 16.
However some mental health advocates say the policy has the potential to cut kids off from connection, and others say it could push children under 16 to even-less-regulated corners of the internet.
They suggest the government should instead focus on better policing of harmful content on social media platforms and preparing children for the reality of life on the web.
Vanessa ClarkeEducation reporter
Vanessa Clarke/BBCThe final phase of the largest-ever expansion of publicly funded childcare support has begun in England, as thousands of working parents receive more help with their nursery costs.
Those eligible are now able to access 30 hours of childcare per week during term-time, paid for by the government, for their children aged nine months to four years.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “landmark moment” for working families, and that the scheme would “put money back in working parents’ pockets”.
But parents say they are facing long waiting lists for places, with nurseries warning that staff shortages are limiting their availability.
Parents Josh Harper and Chloe Hart say their 18-month-old son Oakley’s name was the first one on the waiting list at his new nursery in Altrincham.
The £240-a-month saving on fees, which are falling from £1,130 to £889 because of the scheme extending from 15 hours to 30 hours of funded care, “just releases that little bit of stress”, mum Chloe says.
“It is a significant saving and one that does really help us,” dad Josh adds.
Both teachers, the couple were keen to secure a place, aware that demand has been rising.
Chloe HartThe government had estimated that about 70,000 extra places would be needed by this September to accommodate that increase in demand.
The number of spaces is rising but availability varies across the country – and nurseries and childminders say inquiries for places have “gone through the roof” from families eligible for the extra funding.
“A few years ago, the percentage of families getting the funding was probably 20%, now I’d say it’s nearly 95% of families,” George Apel says as he shows me around the newly opened Altrincham Day Nursery, the Apel family’s seventh nursery.
“Parents are having to be a lot more flexible with their acceptance of what days are available. Before, parents could try to match their childcare to their job, now they’re actually matching their job to their childcare availability.”
For Rachael Darbyshire, who lives in Bolton, the search for a childcare place for her return to work next summer has proved challenging.
Although she started her search before six-week-old Gabriel was born, all of her local nurseries have waiting lists up until September 2026.
“It is a massive help and will bring our bill down from £1200 to around £800, but the biggest issue is that it is only great if you can actually get a childcare place,” Rachael says.
“It’s all well and good saying that there are these hours available, but if the childcare places are not there, then it’s not really supporting women in returning to work.”
Vanessa Clarke/BBCSome parents are going to extra lengths to make themselves eligible for the funded hours as early as possible.
Rachel Williams, from Warwick, says she was thinking about the scheme before the birth of her twins in 2022, when doctors told her she would need a Caesarean four weeks early.
She opted to have the procedure at the end of that March, rather than the beginning of April, so she wouldn’t miss the deadline for being eligible for funded hours at the start of the April term.
“My friends all laughed at me, but it was a really conscious decision and it’s definitely saved us thousands and thousands of pounds,” she says.
If the twins were born in April, they wouldn’t have been eligible for funded hours until the September entry points.
“You shouldn’t really have to be thinking about that,” Rachel says.
Rachel WilliamsResearch from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) suggests that workforce issues could be a key barrier to delivering the promised offer to parents, with low pay and limited progression opportunities a constant challenge for staff.
It is estimated the sector needs 35,000 more staff to provide the funded hours expansion, and the NFER says even if that figure is reached, there are likely to be regional discrepancies.
The government says the number of staff delivering funded childcare in nurseries rose to 272,500 this year – up by 18,200 from 2024, which it said was the highest increase on record.
It has been offering a £1,000 incentive for new recruits, or for people rejoining the workforce in some areas.
But Mr Apel says “retention is arguably more important than recruitment”.
The nursery has started its own recruitment company because of the struggle to bring in and keep early years workers.
The number of childminders has also been continuing its long-term decline, with Ofsted figures showing the numbers falling by 1,000 in the last year.
‘Free’ childcare
There has also been confusion around what is “free” as part of the scheme, and what has to be paid for.
The government-funded hours cover term-time only, and providers say the funding rates, particularly for children aged three and four, are lower than the costs.
It means many nurseries are putting up their prices. A University of Bath study tracking fees over the past 18 months found that they have risen fastest in areas with the lowest government funding, which it says could deepen regional inequalities.
“Parents are phoning up, they’re looking for this thing that’s been called ‘free’, and then they are met with additional charges, for meals or nappies,” says Sarah Ronan, from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, which represents childcare providers and charities.
“The sector has been tasked with rolling out the biggest expansion of childcare in history, and they’re doing it in a really constrained financial environment.”
She says without extra funding, providers may reduce the number of hours they can offer and pause their recruitment plans, further limiting the availability of places.
Joeli Brearley, founder of the Pregnant The Screwed campaign group and the parent support programme Growth Spurt, says there is “a tussle between parents and providers” who are both struggling.
“For parents, it’s really complicated, it’s not really working,” Ms Brearley says.
“We are hearing from parents who are moving their C-section day in order to fit in with the funding criteria, we’re hearing from women who say they’ve gone to their midwife for a sweep to try and bring labour on faster, and people that are asking for inductions earlier just so they can fit with the funding criteria – and that is madness.”
A survey by Growth Spurt and Women in Data suggests that many parents are paying extra consumable fees of £15 a day.
The government has issued guidance saying any additional costs need to be laid out clearly and are optional, but nurseries say charging for extras is the only way to make up the shortfall.
Vanessa Clarke/BBCThere is also concern about those being left out.
Parents who are ineligible for the entitlements pay £205 per week more for a child under two, according to Coram Family and Childcare.
The charity says a child with working parents eligible for the entitlements will receive three times as much government-funded early education than a disadvantaged child by the time they start school.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the scheme was designed to give children “the best start in life”, and provide a “huge boost” to the economy.
“And this is just the beginning,” she added.
“My vision for early years goes beyond this milestone. I want access to high-quality early years for every single family that needs it, without strings and without unfair charges.
“Over the next few years, that is my commitment to parents.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from being a futuristic concept to an active part of classrooms across the United States. From adaptive learning platforms to AI-powered lesson planning, schools are integrating technology to improve learning outcomes and ease teacher workloads. However, the challenge lies in adopting these tools without violating federal and state regulations.
Federal guidance: Innovation with safeguards
In July 2025, the US Department of Education issued guidance confirming that AI can be used in schools when aligned with federal laws. The framework focuses on three core principles—privacy, equity, and human oversight.AI tools must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to protect student data. Algorithms should be designed to prevent bias or discrimination under civil rights regulations. Human decision-making must remain central, ensuring that AI supports educators rather than replacing them.The Department also encouraged schools seeking federal grants to propose AI-driven projects, provided they meet these compliance standards.
State-level action: Rapid policy development
Since the federal guidance, more than half of US states have introduced their own AI frameworks for schools. Ohio now mandates that all districts adopt an AI-use policy by mid-2026, while Rhode Island has published detailed recommendations for responsible classroom integration.These local rules aim to ensure innovation while safeguarding student interests. However, the pace of policy development and the diversity of approaches have created a complex regulatory environment for schools.
Mixed practices at the local level
Despite progress, many districts still operate in a gray area. Policies differ widely between schools, and families often face uncertainty about what is permissible. Some institutions allow AI on personal devices while banning it on school-owned systems. In certain cases, schools have reverted to traditional measures, such as requiring handwritten essays in class to prevent AI-assisted work.This variation highlights the need for consistent guidelines and clear communication with students and parents.
AI as a classroom resource
Educators are increasingly using AI as a tool for efficiency and creativity. AI platforms assist in lesson planning, assessment design, and content generation, enabling teachers to save significant time on administrative work. These efficiencies allow more focus on interactive teaching and student engagement.AI-powered tutoring systems are also being introduced to provide personalised support, particularly for students who need extra academic help. States such as New Hampshire are experimenting with AI-driven tools to enhance math and reading instruction.
Responsible AI use: Best practices for schools
To remain compliant and maximise benefits, schools should adopt structured approaches to AI integration:
- Personalised Learning: Use adaptive platforms to tailor lessons while ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.
- Teacher Support: Allow educators to use AI for planning and administrative tasks with mandatory human review.
- Assessment Integrity: Shift from take-home essays to in-class writing or oral presentations to discourage misuse.
- Career Guidance: Deploy AI-driven counselling tools while retaining human oversight for final decisions.
Managing risks and ensuring compliance
AI adoption brings challenges that schools must address proactively:
- Bias Prevention: Regular audits are necessary to eliminate algorithmic bias.
- Privacy Protection: All tools should meet FERPA standards and undergo security checks.
- Avoiding Over-Reliance: AI should support, not replace, teacher judgment in academic and disciplinary matters.
Comprehensive district-level policies, continuous teacher training, and stakeholder engagement are essential for responsible use.
The road ahead
The Department of Education is collecting public feedback on AI-related policies and exploring ways to integrate AI into its own operations. States will continue rolling out new requirements in the coming months, making 2025 a critical year for AI in education.The future of AI in classrooms depends on a balanced approach—leveraging its potential to improve learning while upholding legal and ethical standards. Schools that integrate AI responsibly will not only enhance student outcomes but also prepare learners for a technology-driven world.
-
Tools & Platforms3 weeks ago
Building Trust in Military AI Starts with Opening the Black Box – War on the Rocks
-
Business2 days agoThe Guardian view on Trump and the Fed: independence is no substitute for accountability | Editorial
-
Ethics & Policy1 month agoSDAIA Supports Saudi Arabia’s Leadership in Shaping Global AI Ethics, Policy, and Research – وكالة الأنباء السعودية
-
Events & Conferences3 months agoJourney to 1000 models: Scaling Instagram’s recommendation system
-
Jobs & Careers2 months agoMumbai-based Perplexity Alternative Has 60k+ Users Without Funding
-
Education2 months agoVEX Robotics launches AI-powered classroom robotics system
-
Funding & Business2 months agoKayak and Expedia race to build AI travel agents that turn social posts into itineraries
-
Podcasts & Talks2 months agoHappy 4th of July! 🎆 Made with Veo 3 in Gemini
-
Podcasts & Talks2 months agoOpenAI 🤝 @teamganassi
-
Mergers & Acquisitions2 months agoDonald Trump suggests US government review subsidies to Elon Musk’s companies