This Chalkbeat article by national editor Erica Meltzer reports on changes Google is making to its Gemini chatbot for students, and asks whether they address AI doing students' work for them. Kevin McKee, a Google DeepMind research scientist, explains the tension: AI models are trained by default to do tasks for users, while students have to do the work themselves to learn.
Under the changes announced Tuesday, Gemini will be off by default in Google Classroom. When schools turn it on, it'll run in Guided Learning mode, a feature launched last year that walks students through examples and questions instead of handing over answers. Guided Learning will also replace AI overviews in Google Search on school accounts. Google says the Classroom version is more rigorous than the original and was developed with teacher input. Teachers can assign work through it and review student chats, and students won't be able to switch back to regular Gemini inside Classroom. Testing starts with a small group of U.S. schools this month, with a wider rollout early in the new year. Earlier this year, Education Week reported, Google caught many districts off guard by switching Gemini on for all students.
Districts that want no AI on school devices must give up Google Search, since Google's Chris Phillips says AI is too integrated into Search to turn off. Lila Byock of Schools Beyond Screens called this a hostile ultimatum. Eisha Buch of Common Sense Media said schools are unlikely to drop search and that Google could let them disable AI overviews instead. Her group rates Gemini K-12 as high risk, finding it often gives responses that aren't age-appropriate and can be made to complete assignments. Reviewers said the earlier Guided Learning showed promise but could still do much of the work.
The article sets this against restrictions on student AI use in New York and Los Angeles and a Trump administration proposal tied to internet subsidies. Buch said students will still meet AI on personal devices, so they need AI literacy and teachers need ways to assess learning off Chromebooks.