AFT
As the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence into our daily, digital lives continues, the AFT recognized both the potential and risks involved, especially for our children, our educators and our classrooms.
With some predicting risks to teacher employment and critical thinking skills, the AFT is meeting the moment with the creation of the first national AI Academy for Educators – putting teachers in the driver’s seat when it comes to understanding and introducing AI into our nation’s schools.
Based in New York City, the academy is a partnership with the United Federation of Teachers, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic and built with the primary goal of equipping teachers with the knowledge and training to harness AI responsibly, ethically and effectively in the classroom.
At the new AI Academy, teachers will not just learn to use AI—they will co-create tools, offer feedback to developers and help shape how the technology is implemented in classrooms across the country.
“Teachers must be in charge of education—not the tool, not the machine,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We’re choosing the GPS system, not the driverless car, so that we can navigate it, we can harness it, we can use it for the good that AI is supposed to be. But we can also make sure we have the guardrails we need to protect the safety and security of kids.”
AI’s increasingly ubiquitous presence and ability to rapidly synthesize vast amounts of information, reveals there was never a question whether AI would fundamentally transform our world—the question, Weingarten said, was “whether we would be chasing it or whether we would be trying to harness it. If educators, school staff and their unions aren’t involved in shaping this technology, then others, who may not share our values or priorities, will make those decisions for us.”
