Apple News Today Schools blocked ChatGPT. Now they embrace it. What changed?
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Oct 4, 2025 Vauhini Vara, a contributing writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, explores the rapid shift in U.S. schools from blocking to embracing AI tools. She discusses the pressures that drove this change and compares the current AI rollout to earlier educational technologies. Vara highlights innovative uses in classrooms, like lesson planning and feedback, while cautioning about potential harms, such as student privacy issues. Emphasizing the need for teaching AI literacy, she also questions the implications of industry ties in education.
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Why Tech Companies Entered Schools
- Tech firms pushed into schools because districts lack resources and political will to fund proven education fixes.
- Companies gain influence by offering resources and framing AI as the inevitable future for students.
A New Phase Of Tech Influence
- This moment continues a tech-in-education trend but differs in scale and tactics, like union partnerships and direct school deals.
- Unprecedented programs, like a $23M AI teacher training institute, accelerate adoption and industry influence.
Evidence On AI In Classrooms Is Unsettled
- Research on AI's impact in classrooms is still inconclusive and lacks long-term, peer-reviewed evidence.
- Some studies show benefits while others show harms like reduced student learning, so outcomes remain uncertain.
