Google Clarifies On Accusation Of AI Risks In Classrooms: What Changes For Students? (AI-generated) After being under scrutiny for allegedly pushing Gemini AI on students, Google has issued a clarification on Tuesday. The American tech giant said that it will turn off Gemini Notebook and Google Search by default for K-12 student accounts. Schools will be able to choose which of these services they would want for the children. These changes come at the time when Google faced criticism from schools and teachers over AI concerns which could impact children’s education, independent thinking and mental health. Google stated that its changes will give schools more control over how students use AI services. The Sundar Pichai-led firm said, “We want to clarify what we announced today about our education services. Today’s announcements give schools more choice, not less. Here’s what we announced: - Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search will be OFF ???? by default. This is based on K-12 schools asking for more control over student use of AI services. - Schools are in control: They can choose to turn ON ???? one, two, or all of these services individually.” Google announced that it will make changes to Search to make it more useful by introducing guided learning features in AI Mode and AI Overviews. These features are claimed to make students solve problems step by step rather than simply providing direct answers to their schoolwork. “We are also updating Search for schools to make it better for learning. Specifically, AI Mode and AI Overviews will offer step-by-step guided learning through problems, so that students don’t get quick answers to schoolwork. We know there’s concern about students using AI to shortcut schoolwork, and schools have told us they want control. That’s exactly why we are making these changes today to address the feedback we’ve heard from educators in recent months. And we’ll continue to engage deeply with educators to ensure we are giving schools more choice, more controls, and improved Search for learning,” added Google. Google issued the clarification after it reportedly faced criticism from US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley. They reportedly wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and asked him to answer questions about the company’s AI strategy for schools. They warned that Google’s presence in classrooms may put children’s academic development and overall wellbeing at risk. These concerns followed a Wall Street Journal investigation that spoke to more than 60 teachers, students, parents and medical professionals. The investigation highlighted cases where students allegedly became dependent on AI for their homework and couldn’t solve math problems without AI. Govind Choudhary is the Chief Copy Editor for Tech at Times Now with over five years of experience in the media industry. He covers consumer technolog... View More