The motto “Don’t be evil” has been downplayed at Google for about a decade now, but it’s still a relevant concern for the corporation that’s one of the largest companies in the world.
Earlier this week, Google announced that it will be rolling out a new Guided Learning AI tool that could reshape the classroom, alongside a bait-and-switch announcement promising new AI administrative tools for school districts.
An extremely high majority of K-12 students in America have a school-issued personal device, and Google is easily the largest provider of laptops. Google products shape the classroom experience for almost every American student.
Districts often struggle to reconcile the need for students to learn how to interact with the digital world and the reality that ed-tech like Chromebooks often creates a time-wasting black box. While limited administrative controls do exist for Chromebooks, they have not yet prevented catastrophic average levels of wasted classroom time.
So far, Google hasn’t been a helpful ally to districts. In August, Google unexpectedly made the AI tool Google Gemini available within the Google Classroom app to all students, of all ages, in districts that had permitted some AI tools elsewhere. This switch caught many districts flat-footed, raising concerns that technology implementation in the classroom was controlled by Big Tech production schedules instead of thoughtful district policies.
According to Edweek, Google has faced increasing political pressure over ed-tech. U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., gave Google until Nov. 2 to answer nine questions, including the question “Why has Google set A.I. product integration as the default and, in some cases, made it impossible to disable these features on licensed education devices?” The open letter raised several strong concerns, such as why Google seemed to be fully aware of the negative effects of AI on young students and yet continued to push the products to school districts.
Google’s new announcement
Google hasn’t answered the letter, but it did announce on Nov. 3 that the Gemini chatbot tool and the Google Search function will now be off on school Chromebooks by default. Administrators will have to turn the features on manually.
This may seem like a step in the right direction, but the announcement was a bait-and-switch. According to Google vice president Chris Phillips, the Google Search function and AI are so deeply integrated that schools won’t have the option to let their students search without AI integration.
It’s hard to believe that those tech geniuses over at Google really can’t figure out how to let students use Google Search without using Google AI. Many schools, in all likelihood, will feel forced into letting their students access AI to preserve their ability to research using Google Search.
The announcement, understandably, has raised concern in many school districts.
A new transformative technology
The announcement of that Faustian bargain (Google Search for integrated AI) has overshadowed the second, equally impactful part of Google’s Nov. 3 presentation: the new Guided Learning AI function.
Guided Learning is a just-announced AI function that will shake established classroom rhythms.
The tool coaches students through the steps of a problem instead of giving them the answer straightaway. It’s available to students both through Google Search and through Google Classroom.
While Google’ s announcement frames the new tool as a helpful alternative to AI bots that simply solve homework questions for the student, the company has also designed Google Classroom integration that allows conversations with the Guided Learning chatbot to be assigned to students as a routine part of their coursework.
The process is streamlined and easy. Teachers will be able to assign students Guided Learning AI activities through the Google Classroom portal. Teachers can feed the Guided Learning AI classroom materials for more context. [Example of a student assignment page below.]
Afterwards, teachers will simply observe as students receive bespoke homework tips and reassuring comments from the chatbots. [Example of a student AI Guided Learning chat below.]
Teachers can view transcripts of the conversation and receive AI-generated summaries of how students are performing after the assigned AI conversations are complete. [Example of the Guided Learning teacher view below.]
The ability to provide personalized coaching to students through the Guided Learning platform is a huge mass technological change in the classroom. It mirrors the technology provided at institutions like Alpha School, which uses AI technology to deliver coursework to students. If Guided Learning becomes a standard assignment, concerns about teacher preparedness and efficacy could fade into the background as the bot takes primary control of student guidance.
There are many unanswered questions about the new Guided Learning tool. Will students be able to “break” this tool to answer their homework without putting in effort? Will they be able to access off-task information through Guided Learning? What are the consequences for using an AI chatbot to coach students through new concepts instead of a human teacher?
And the big one: Is this an effective learning tool, or just another way for Google to make money?
Concerns for districts
It’s important for districts to remember that Google is not a student advocacy group. While Guided Learning could be an amazing supplemental tool for teachers, it could just as easily usurp the role of teacher altogether. Since Google has already globally released Guided Learning into Google Classroom, districts don’t have much time to plan and discuss.
The company isn’t winning too much trust. Since Google has coupled AI integration and Google Search, the company is forcing many school districts to choose between basic search abilities coupled with Guided Learning or no search abilities at all.
Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, correctly remarked that Google is attempting “to coerce schools into adopting AI.”
Why now? Google is continuing to force stronger AI integration in the classroom just as many districts are shying away from it or requesting higher administrative controls.
Very real concerns about how this ed-tech is reshaping the school experience for the worse have led some districts to put strict limits on screen time and AI use in the classroom. For example, the Los Angles school district recently chose to move away from a 1:1 device classroom model, adding significant AI and screen time limits.
It’s hard to believe that concerned parents and districts will feel more comfortable after this rollout.
Big Tech production timelines shouldn’t control classroom technology implementation. Students deserve thoughtful administrative tech policies, and currently they’re getting yanked about by the whims of tech creators. Google must learn to give deference to administrators if the company wants to avoid frustrating conversations with lawmakers.
Google’s (minute) rollback of automatic AI integration shows that the company is sensitive to public pressure from districts and lawmakers. Lawmakers should continue to ask hard questions until Google produces technology that is truly safe for students and gives the maximum amount of authority to administrators.