Big Tech Invests Millions in AI Training for Teachers, Sparking Debate and Concerns

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Big Tech Is Funding AI Lesson Plan Seminars that Parents Increasingly Do Not Want

At a recent event in San Antonio, about 50 educators received a three-hour crash course in AI, organized by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and largely funded by Big Tech. An Associated Press report from Monday about the seminar sheds some light on what it’s like when AI companies fund an effort to help more teachers AI-generate their lesson plans. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,’†Kathleen Torregrossa, a person described as a “trainer†said to the group as part of her introduction, according to the AP. “But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world,†Torregrossa added. According to a September Gallup poll, 60% of K-12 teachers have already used AI in their work. Increasingly, parents appear to not want this. One poll over the summer found that support among parents for AI-generated lesson plans has fallen from 62% in 2024 to 49% this year. Another recent study looked at some of the lesson plans themselves and found them academically substandard according to the two benchmarks the researchers used. The San Antonio seminar is part of a program launched back in July by the AFT in conjunction with a bunch of tech companies. The funding for the program includes $8 million in cash and $2 million in resources from OpenAI, $12.5 million over five years from Microsoft, and $500,000 from Anthropic, according to the AP. All that money and gear is supposed to go toward a dedicated campus in New York City where AI training for teachers will be conducted online and in person, with the five-year goal of providing AI lessons to 400,000 teachers. That’s almost a quarter of the membership of the AFT, according to its website. The familiar ChatGPT, Gemini, and Microsoft CoPilot were all used at the recent event to generate lesson plans, along with Khan Academy’s Khanmingo and something called “Colorín Colorado.†One first grade teacher apparently kept using the words "amazing,†and remarked, "It can save you so much time,†according to AP’s Jocelyn Gecker. The teacher said she plans to use AI to make illustrated flashcards, and told Gecker “you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring.†Another teacher said she plans to prompt the AI tools to create storybooks with the names of her students as the characters, and that she wants to have a chatbot create new versions of difficult class texts, ostensibly optimized for different reading levels. Gizmodo reached out to the AFT to ask for a statement in response to parental concerns and the possibility of degraded lesson plan quality. A spokesman, James Hill, pointed us to statements of caution and concern in three past publications by the AFT: one press release about the start of the program back in July of this year, and one from last year about the release of an AFT document called “Commonsense Guardrails for Using Advanced Technology in Schools.†The third appears to be a proposed newspaper column along similar lines. Hill also mentioned in his email that “students’ privacy and security are the #1 priority.†All three documents he provided drive at a similar point encapsulated by the following quote from AFT president Randi Weingarten included in the July press release: "The direct connection between a teacher and their kids can never be replaced by new technologies, but if we learn how to harness it, set commonsense guardrails and put teachers in the driver’s seat, teaching and learning can be enhanced.†But even if AI is “harnessed,†guardrails are put in place, and teachers are in control, learning may still not be enhancedâ€"and could be hindered for all anyone knows. Gizmodo posed this possibility to the AFT and will update if we hear back.

Why OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic are funding millions in teacher training: 'AI, like it or not, is part of our world' | Fortune

On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

How Big Tech is pouring millions into AI training for America's teachers

Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft's Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. _ This story was first published on Oct 17, 2025. It was re-published on Oct. 20, 2025, to show Brad Smith is the president and vice chairman of Microsoft, not the CEO.

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

SAN ANTONIO -- SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Big Tech Is Paying Millions to Train Teachers on AI, in a Push to Bring Chatbots Into Classrooms

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms - The Economic Times

On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them - they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" - online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft's Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days."Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorin Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before."

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms - The Economic Times

Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. While some worry about being replaced, many see AI as a powerful tool to save time and better engage students.On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marvelling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said scepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them - they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" - online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of scepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorin Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before."

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." Weingarten first met with Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an "agnostic" approach that means any company's AI tools could be used in a training session. Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000. Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. Microsoft's Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." Teachers see new possibilities At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado. Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. ___ This story was first published on Oct 17, 2025. It was re-published on Oct. 20, 2025, to show Brad Smith is the president and vice chairman of Microsoft, not the CEO.

Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms

(AP) -- On a scorching hot Saturday in , dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day's workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence. After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: "Are we going to be replaced with AI?" That remains to be seen. But for the nation's 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world's largest technology companies. The two groups don't always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America. , and are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the , the country's second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. AFT President said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets. "There is no one else who is helping us with this. That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world," Weingarten said. "We went to them -- they didn't come to us." With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years. The , the country's largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with last month. The company has provided a grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of "microcredentials" -- online trainings open to the union's 3 million members, said , NEA's senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year. "We tailored our partnership very surgically," Bilal said. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop." Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills. The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an as part of an effort to achieve "global dominance in artificial intelligence." The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up. Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. unveiled a initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in , Microsoft's home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for high schools. Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging. The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what's best for teachers and students, said , director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. "These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake," Lake said. CEO agrees that teachers should have a "healthy dose of skepticism" about the role of tech companies. "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI's possible impact on critical thinking. "We have to be careful. It's early days." At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the . It is the city's largest, employing about 7,000 teachers. The day started with a pep talk. "We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, 'Nah, I'm not doing that,'" trainer told the room. "But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world." Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín . , a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word "amazing" to describe what she saw. "It can save you so much time," she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary. "With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, 'I'm bored.' Everything is boring," Aguirre said. "If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you've just got to do that." Middle school teacher said there is no turning back to how she taught before. As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students' names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students' reading levels. All in a matter of seconds. "I can give my students access to things that never existed before," Simone said. "As a teacher, once you've used it and see how helpful it is, I don't think I could go back to the way I did things before." ____ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. , source