Google's Gemini AI launches 'Guided Learning' for education, offers free access
Google is making a concerted effort to reposition its Gemini artificial intelligence as a genuine educational tool rather than a mere shortcut for academic tasks. The company recently unveiled a “guided learning” mode for its Gemini AI, designed to foster deeper understanding by leading users through problems with structured support, rather than simply providing immediate answers.
According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, this new mode functions as a “learning companion,” offering a series of questions and step-by-step guidance. To enrich the learning experience, responses from the guided learning mode can incorporate diverse elements such as images, videos, and interactive quizzes. Google emphasizes that the development of this feature involved collaboration with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including students, educators, researchers, and learning experts, ensuring its efficacy in comprehending new concepts and its foundation in established learning science principles.
This strategic pivot by AI developers into the educational sector appears to be, in part, a response to the pervasive reputation that AI tools have acquired for facilitating academic dishonesty. Features like Gemini’s guided learning mode, along with similar initiatives such as ChatGPT’s study mode announced just last week, theoretically hold the potential to genuinely enhance learning outcomes. However, a critical question remains: will students opt to engage with these more involved modes, or will they continue to gravitate towards the expedient convenience of AI chatbots for quick, unearned answers? The success of these new functionalities hinges on user adoption for their intended purpose.
As part of its broader commitment to education, Google also announced a significant financial and programmatic investment. The company is offering eligible students aged 18 and older in the US, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, and Brazil a complimentary 12-month subscription to its AI Pro Plan, provided they register by October 6th. Furthermore, Google has pledged a substantial $1 billion in funding over the next three years specifically for American education initiatives. This investment is earmarked for a range of programs, including AI literacy development, funding for educational research, and the provision of cloud computing resources to academic institutions. These efforts underscore Google’s ambition to integrate AI more positively and constructively into the educational landscape.