The AFT is a company that represents 1.8 million pre-Okay via Twelfth-grade lecturers and different education-related employees within the U.S. In the present day, the AFT introduced the launch of the Nationwide Academy for AI Instruction, supported by Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

The Nationwide Academy for AI Instruction is a $23 million initiative that can supply free AI coaching and curriculum to all 1.8 million AFT members. It should additionally characteristic a state-of-the-art facility in Manhattan, NY, designed to rework how AI is taught in school rooms throughout the nation.

“The academy will assist handle the hole in structured, accessible AI coaching and supply a nationwide mannequin for AI-integrated curriculum and instructing that places educators within the driver’s seat,” the AFT acknowledged in its press launch saying the initiative.

The academy’s coaching program was developed by main AI consultants and skilled educators. It should embrace workshops, on-line programs, and hands-on coaching classes. The academy may even supply ongoing assist and sources to assist educators keep present with the quickly evolving area of AI.

Coaching is ready to start later this yr, with plans to scale nationwide within the coming years. The aim is to assist 400,000 educators—roughly 10 % of the U.S. instructing workforce—over the following 5 years.

Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, mentioned:

“To greatest serve college students, we should guarantee lecturers have a robust voice within the improvement and use of AI. This partnership is not going to solely assist lecturers learn to higher use AI, it’s going to give them the chance to inform tech firms how we will create AI that higher serves youngsters.”

This partnership between a serious lecturers’ union and main AI firms marks a major step towards integrating AI into college schooling.