Google Defaults Education AI to Off, Blocking Search if Disabled
Google is defaulting its education AI tools (Gemini, Classroom) to off, requiring manual activation by administrators. However, disabling these AI features also blocks Google Search, forcing schools to choose between opting out of AI and losing core search functionality.
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While Google is trying to move beyond Chromebooks, the ubiquity of these devices has made the company's education products huge in schools. Now, Google says it will let educators choose whether to allow its AI tools in the classroom. However, blocking AI tools also means giving up search, leaving schools with a difficult decision.
Google's new overarching approach to AI in the classroom sounds good on the surface. After consulting educators, researchers, and lawmakers, Google has decided that schools using its education products will be opted out of AI tools by default. It will be up to administrators to manually enable them when these changes roll out in the coming months.
When you look at what Google considers to be an AI tool, the nature of the Faustian bargain becomes clear. The affected products are Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Gemini in Classroom, and Google Search. There's no picking and choosing—you either allow all the AI or none of it.