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California colleges strengthen ties with Big Tech over AI offerings. Here's what schools get
Gov. Gavin Newsom, flanked by tech leaders and California Community Colleges chancellor Sonya Christian, announce the AI deals at Google San Francisco.
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California leaders announced Thursday new partnerships between tech industry giants and the state’s public higher education system, high schools and middle schools.
At Google's San Francisco headquarters, a slew of companies that include Adobe, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Google and Microsoft said they will make their products available, at “no cost to the state,” according to the governor’s office.
Why the deal?
To succeed in the workforce, it’s essential for students to become “AI-fluent,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian.
Sponsored message
Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that even careers that were recently very lucrative, like software engineering, have rapidly transformed, in part because AI can do the work that recent grads were traditionally hired to take on.
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LAist asked community college students, faculty, and staff about their experiences with generative AI, particularly ChatGPT. Here is what five of them had to say. -
A closed-loop system aims to empower, not replace, professors in subjects including literature and physics. And it appears to be improving student outcomes too. -
Older and wiser from one academic year with Open AI’s ChatGPT, faculty at community colleges have recognized that their students are no strangers to generative AI tools.
"The world we invented is now competing against us,” he said, “and we've got to step up our game.”
It’s unclear if data supplied by users will be used to train the companies’ products. LAist has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
What are some of the services that will be available?
- Google will provide AI courses for those who teach eighth through 12th grade. According to Matthew Schneider, Google Public Sector’s managing director of education, state and local government, this will enable them to personalize their instruction and create “more dynamic” lesson plans.
- Moving forward, the state’s community colleges will give credits to students who earn Google certificates.
- The CSU, which announced an AI initiative involving several tech industry leaders earlier this year, is now working on a portal that will connect students across the state with hands-on internship opportunities at those companies.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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