Senators Blumenthal and Hawley press Google on AI in schools

Senators Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, and Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, have written to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai about the company's AI products in schools, The Wall Street Journal reports. The senators said they have "grave concern" that Google's "aggressive push of A.I. products to children in schools is threatening the academic success and overall wellbeing of an entire generation," and set a Nov. 2 deadline for a reply.

The letter asks what Google knows about how its AI tools could harm children, why AI features were made the default setting on school devices, what concerns districts, teachers and parents have raised about students relying on AI academically and emotionally, and which promotions Google has used to expand AI use in schools. "We cannot repeat the mistakes of social media platforms," the senators wrote.

The letter cites a September Journal investigation that found many students had become emotionally and academically reliant on Google's AI tools, and that Google's own researchers had warned of heightened risks for children, according to Quartz. Google has said teachers use its technology "because it solves real classroom challenges," that educators and administrators stay in charge of how it is used, and that it has built safeguards for users under 18. Google recently opened its Gemini chatbot to K-12 students.