Microsoft To Provide Free AI Tools For Washington State Schools

theodp writes: GeekWire reports that Microsoft is bringing artificial intelligence to every public classroom in its home state -- and sparking new questions about its role in education. The Redmond tech giant on Thursday unveiled Microsoft Elevate Washington, a sweeping new initiative that will provide free access to AI-powered software and training for all 295 public school districts and 34 community and technical colleges across Washington state. The program is part of Microsoft Elevate, the company's broader $4 billion, five-year commitment to support schools and nonprofits with AI tools and training that was announced in July.

"This is our home," Microsoft President Brad Smith said at a launch event on the company's headquarters campus. "A big part of what we're doing today is investing in our home." Smith said Microsoft understands the unease around AI in classrooms but argued that waiting isn't an option. "I don't know that it will be possible to slow down the use of AI, even if someone wanted to," he said. In an interview with KING-TV Seattle, Smith added, "We're making a bigger commitment to this state than we are to any state in the country. [...] Above all else, we want to ensure that people can learn how to use the technology of tomorrow. That's the only way for our kids to succeed in the future."

The event on Thursday also included comedian Trevor Noah, the company's "chief questions officer," as well as Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi. Noah and Partovi both also appeared with Smith at the Microsoft Elevate launch event in July, where Smith told Partovi it was time to "switch hats" from coding to AI, adding that "the last 12 years have been about the Hour of Code [Code.org's flagship event, credited with pushing CS into K-12 classrooms], but the future involves the Hour of AI." Code.org last month committed to "engage 25M learners in an Hour of AI in school year '25/'26" at a meeting of the White House Task Force on AI Education that preceded a White House dinner for top execs from the nation's leading AI companies.

You get what you pay for.

[commodore73]

You get that for which you pay, to avoid ending the phrase with a preposition.

Re:

[Mr. Dollar Ton]

The so-called "AI tools" given out "for free" may cause loss and harm to the children as they become unnecessarily dependent on them.

These "free gifts" should be at least well-regulated and perhaps not welcome at all where children are involved.

Re: You get what you pay for.

[commodore73]

I'm going to finally end this "AI" American bullshit. I'm going to write to my powerless or in-the-bag US representatives.

Re:

[Mr. Dollar Ton]

The "AI" bullshit is already ending itself without your help, thank you very much.

Re:

[commodore73]

I was predicting the next AI winter before this time last year and its likely failure several years before that, but with global climate change, weather predictions have become rather unreliable.

While there seems to be overwhelming current public sentiment against AI, and general agreement from industry leaders down to operational levels that current efforts will fail to achieve expected returns, the investments and build-outs continue. Individual short-sighted greed will be the downfall of our species.

Re:

[buck-yar]

Maybe we can explore the notion of negative value? If not enough people want it for free, how much are they willing to pay to get people to use it? Or maybe that's the plan. Get it integrated into education so kids are conditioned to use Microsoft products. Like how their UIs are made to break convention, so someone that's good at Office isn't great at other software, and someone that doesn't regularly use their clunky software finds it annoying to do basic things (lock in basically). Their pros and power u

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Unix was originally given away for free to universities.

AT&T could have kept it to itself, but it did something nice.

Re:

[Marxist Hacker 42]

The irony of the two stories being together on the front page, "More Screen Time Linked to Lower Test Scores For Elementary Students" and "Microsoft to Provide Free AI Tools For Washington State Schools" is just too good to fail to mention.

And so I'm replying to the both First Posts with it.

Nice

[MeNeXT]

Artificially increase your revenue while taking a write off as a donation too schools with the benefit to use this as a PR opportunity to increase the value of software you can't even give away...
AI adoption numbers are increasing by leaps and bounds...

Aren't ...

[cascadingstylesheet]

... free AI tools like one web browser request away?

(Okay, maybe not unlimited use of the latest models, but surely duck.ai will give you whatever a schoolkid might need/want?)

Result of $100,000 H1-B’s

[XopherMV]

Funny how Trump institutes a $100,000 fee on H1-B visas and 2 weeks later Microsoft is all about investing in schools at “home.”

Re:

[gtall]

I hardly think throwing AI-Crack at schools is investing. And the $100,000 fee is only el Bunko's plea for bigger kickbacks from industry. As always with him, follow the trail of breadcrumbs back to his pocket.

can we please stop abusing the term "AI"?

[Anonymous Coward]

at least in journalism?

AI is a type of technology. you cannot bring "a type of technology" to "every classroom", you can bring certain tools that use said technology.

each of said tools has a name. don't be shy, list these tools by names!

If my family lived in Washington state...

[Misagon]

I would demand from my representatives that there was a school for my kid that did not participate in this program.

Re:

[Mspangler]

Home schooling is very popular in Washington, this should accelerate the trend.

The teacher's union will figure this out shortly and raise a protest.

The first taste is free!

[jenningsthecat]

Said every pusher ever...

It's about indoctrination - about setting expectations for, and acceptance of, the world the oligarchs are busy shoving down our throats. The tech sector should be utterly banned from schools, except at the express invitation of those schools and with the explicit approval of a majority of the parents.

Business is continuing to co-opt and control education just as they are doing with government This whole blood-sucking movement needs to have a stake driven through its heart before we burn its body and piss on its ashes.

If it is "free"...

[gweihir]

... then you are the product. Better stay far away from this poisoned "gift".

Trying to make a new generation dependent

[Anonymous Coward]

The only way to get people to use this is trying to make a new generation dependent on it from the beginning and avoid practicing and honing skills.

Re:

[noshellswill]

I lived in Seattle 25 years ago, and still remember the local rag ( Seattle Times ) describing the Seattle workforce : "...  they are as productive as ants ..." . With a classical East-Coast education I was naturally horrified. Evidently  nothing has changed in  coastal Washington State.  Having lived in Spokane also, I know eastern Washington people mostly poach with Remingtons, not AI.

Re:

[PPH]

Well, it worked for Apple.

Microsoft WokeBOT :o

[Mirnotoriety]

The thing I've noticed about these ChatBOTs is that they spout the prejudices and beliefs of the owners. Should such power and influence be in the hands of a few tech companies. Once they block access to the actual Web we'll have no other sources. As someone once said, if you feed people the lie and prevent access to alternative views then they have no other choice but to believe the lie.

Beware

[PPH]

Beware of Geeks bearing gifts.