Natasha Singer

that this is completely true.

And also, I think it's sort of the moral of the story.

I'm working on a book right now about the decade-long push for computer science and now AI in schools.

And one of the things I've learned from doing historical research is that this is a pattern of the tech industry of pushing school reforms.

And it's always the latest hyped thing that's urgent for schools to teach.

And schools respond.

And we want schools to respond because we want kids to be able to use the technology of the day and we want kids to be able to learn the subjects that are the most important of the day and that help them navigate their worlds and get jobs.

But at the same time...

Tech companies have outsized influence in schools.

And we have bowed to tech industry education agendas in school without a lot of public discussion or independent scrutiny.

And if you think about other industries, we don't let big pharma companies like Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson tell high schools what to teach in biology.

Tech companies supply the laptops, the software, the email, the writing apps, the PowerPoint apps, right?

They supply the platforms on which schools run.

And it gives them a unique power to then say, we are the backbone of schools.

We are at the forefront innovation.

And so we're going to tell you what kids need to learn.

No other industry occupies that kind of powerful influence in schools.

And I'm reporting on how some of the same tech companies that pushed for computer science are now pivoting from coding to pushing for AI education and AI tools in schools.

And we see Microsoft just announced an effort to provide $4 billion in AI technology and training to skilled students in schools and community colleges with AI.

Google just announced a $1 billion commitment for a similar AI education effort.