Google is playing defense on Tuesday after a political backlash to its new policy surrounding use of artificial intelligence in schools.
In a blog post titled, Designing responsible AI for learning, Google said it's bringing AI into its Classroom offering with a product called Guided Learning. The New York Times published a story saying that the company will turn off search for schools that reject AI entirely.
Following the Times' story, prominent left-leaning politicians, including Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani voiced their outrage on social media.
"Google is trying to use its monopoly power to force AI into our public schools," Mamdani wrote on X. Sanders wrote that "Google is threatening schools," referring to the policy as "extortion."
Google responded later in the day. In a post on X, the company said its new policy was meant to give schools more choice over how students interact with AI. Google said its Gemini chatbot, Gemini Notebook, and search are turned off by default, and that "schools are in control," with the ability to turn them as they see fit.