Teachers’ Union Creates a National Academy for AI Instruction With $23M From Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic
- The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has created a National Academy for AI Instruction with $23 million in funding from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
- The academy will offer hands-on workshops for teachers on how to use AI tools for instructional tasks safely and ethically, aiming to reach approximately 400,000 educators by 2030.
- Microsoft will provide $12.5 million over five years, while OpenAI will contribute $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, with Anthropic adding $500,000 for the first year.
- The initiative is part of a broader effort to educate educators on AI, following calls from the Trump administration and examples like California State University’s adoption of ChatGPT and Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ use of Google’s Gemini AI.
- Experts have raised concerns that tech firms may use these partnerships as marketing opportunities to turn students into lifelong customers, but the AFT aims to provide a neutral and educational experience for educators.
IBL News | New York
The American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers’ union in the U.S. (representing 1.8 million members), will create a National Academy for AI Instruction, with $23 million in funding from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
This training hub for educators is planned to open this fall in the union’s headquarters in New York City. It will offer hands-on workshops for teachers on how to use AI tools for instructional tasks safely and ethically.
The initiative is expected to reach approximately 400,000 educators, that is, roughly one in ten US teachers, by 2030.
This academy was inspired by other unions, such as the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, which has established high-tech training centers in collaboration with industry partners.
Microsoft will provide $12.5 million over the next five years. OpenAI will contribute $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources. Anthropic will add $500,000 for the first year of the effort.
In February, California State University, the largest university system in the U.S., announced that it would provide ChatGPT to approximately 460,000 students.
This spring, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the third-largest U.S. school district, began rolling out Google’s Gemini AI for 100,000 high schoolers.
The Trump administration has called on the industry to provide AI education. (IBL News: Sixty-Eight Organizations Support Trump’s Pledge to Educate K-12 Students on AI).
Some experts have warned that tech firms can use AI deals with schools and the teachers’ union as marketing opportunities to make students lifetime chatbot customers.
“It’s a long-game investment by companies to turn young people into consumers who identify with a particular brand,” said to The New York Times Dr. Griffey, a vice president of University Council-A.F.T. Local 1474, a union representing University of California librarians and lecturers.
This month, approximately 200 New York City teachers received a glimpse of what the new national training effort might look like, as reported by The New York Times. A presenter from Microsoft showed an explainer video featuring Minecraft, the popular game owned by Microsoft.
Additionally, teachers attempted to generate emails and lesson plans using Khanmigo, an AI tool designed for schools, for which Microsoft has provided support. They then experimented with Microsoft Copilot for similar tasks.
On its side, OpenAI has launched programs like OpenAI Academy, ChatGPT for Education, and the OpenAI forum. The company is also co-sponsoring the AFT AI Symposium on July 24 in Washington, DC.