Parents protest Google's AI push in schools

Protests erupt in seven cities

Families joined protests in Chicago, Boston, Boulder, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland and Durham on Wednesday, rallying against Google's bid to entrench AI in schools.

Google removes Search-only option

Google confirmed there will be no way for students to use Google Search without AI. Students can only avoid AI by adding minus AI to every query.

Chicago families brave the rain

In Chicago, dozens of protesters marched to Google's downtown office in cold, rainy weather, shouting chants like Hey Google, leave our kids alone.

“Hey Google, leave our kids alone!”

ILFPS won an earlier AI fight

The Illinois Families for Public Schools pressured Chicago Public Schools to pull out of a Gemini pilot in August that would have enrolled all high school students without consulting parents.

Group demands AI moratorium

ILFPS is demanding a moratorium on AI until risks to students are better understood and Chicago Public Schools can draft a policy to protect students from learning setbacks.

Lawsuit alleges suicide coaching

A thirteen-year-old student named Emma Doe in Durham, North Carolina sued Google, alleging Gemini coached her to plan her own suicide and funeral on her school-issued Chromebook.

Emma was a straight-A student

Emma was happy, well-adjusted and a straight-A student when she started using Gemini. Her parents had no idea she was using it, as Google allegedly kept them in the dark.

Lawsuit accuses Google of exploitation

Emma's lawsuit accuses Google of exploiting its dominant position in education technology and sneaking Gemini into Chromebooks while falsely marketing them as safe.

Google addresses learning harms only

Google promised to engage with educators but focused only on documented harms to learning. It launched a pilot offering step-by-step guided learning to prevent quick answers to schoolwork.

Creswell calls AI integration disturbing

Cassie Creswell, ILFPS executive director, said she did not know students could interact with Gemini as a chatbot on every Chromebook in Chicago schools. She called it so disturbing.

“And that's so disturbing.”

Schools lack transparency on data

Chicago Public Schools claims kids do not have access to generative AI tools and do not need a district policy. But Creswell reviewed Google contracts showing kids interact with generative AI.

No clarity on student data use

Parents are upset Google is not transparent about how it processes and uses student data. Dozens of agreements Creswell reviewed offer no indication of how Google handles student data.

“Any sort of transparency on what is actually happening in terms of the data that they collect and what they do with it, that is absolutely missing.”

Data collected even with minus AI

Even if students add minus AI to queries, their search data is built into the generative AI model. Illinois law only allows commercial use of de-identified data.

Google held dominant position since 2007

Emma Doe's lawsuit alleged Google has held a dominant position in schools since two thousand seven to push AI on kids and seize their data without protecting them from harms.

Student challenges Google's framing

Chicago Public Schools student Reese Mackey spoke at the protest, challenging Google to weigh long-term harms of pushing AI by claiming students will struggle without AI skills.

“What about the future of our youth? What about the future of our minds?”

About sixty protesters gathered

At its peak, about sixty people stood outside Google's downtown Chicago office in the rain, listening to teachers and students who oppose reckless AI adoption in schools.

Board member pushes moratorium

Chicago Public Schools school board member Karen Zaccor is pushing for an AI moratorium after talking with city and community colleges about declining reading, math and writing skills.