AI Adoption Accelerates in US Classrooms with Broad Support from Microsoft, OpenAI, and Others

US Teachers' Union to Establish AI Education Hub
Government Actively Encourages Initiative

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots is accelerating in the American education sector.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on July 8 (local time), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teachers' union in the United States, announced that it would establish an "AI Education Hub" for teachers. Major technology companies, including Microsoft (MS), OpenAI, and Anthropic, are collectively providing $23 million in support for this project.

The union plans to establish a "National Academy for AI Education" in New York City and, starting this fall, launch hands-on workshops on how to use AI tools in practical classroom activities such as lesson planning. Randi Weingarten, president of the federation, stated, "The academy is not just a place to learn how AI works, but an innovative educational space to learn how to use this technology wisely and ethically," adding, "It will be a place where technology developers and educators can communicate and collaborate."

The AI Education Hub will be located at the headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in Manhattan, New York, which represents about 200,000 education professionals. MS will contribute $12.5 million over the next five years, OpenAI will provide $8 million in funding and $2 million worth of technology resources, and Anthropic will contribute $500,000.

The NYT reported that this project is part of a broader effort by American technology companies to transform education with generative AI chatbots and to encourage schools to adopt them. Earlier this year in February, California State University (CSU) decided to provide ChatGPT to its 460,000 students, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the third-largest school district in the United States, began introducing Google’s AI "Gemini" to more than 100,000 high school students.

The federal government is also actively encouraging these efforts. The Donald Trump administration, which recently froze school support funds including after-school program budgets, last week asked American companies and nonprofit organizations to provide AI-related grants, technology, and educational materials for schools, teachers, and students. Dozens of technology companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, MS, Nvidia, and OpenAI, have expressed their intention to participate. Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s global head of policy, said, "Along with reading, writing, and math, 'AI literacy' will become a new essential skill for the future," adding, "The era has come when learning this technology is necessary, and the best place for that is school."

However, the NYT pointed out that there are still concerns, as the educational effectiveness of AI tools has yet to be sufficiently proven and chatbots can generate incorrect information. In response, Weingarten said, "We are aware of such concerns, and the union has established guidelines for the use of AI in schools," adding, "We will ensure that teachers can provide input in the development process of educational AI tools."