A new, bipartisan bill introduced by Democratic Senator of California Adam Schiff and endorsed by the biggest AI developers in the world\u2014including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft\u2014would change the K-12 curriculum to shoehorn in \u201cAI literacy,\u201d something that young people and teachers alike already hate in schools.The Literacy in Future Technologies Artificial Intelligence, or LIFT AI Act, would empower the new director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to make grant awards \u201con a merit-reviewed, competitive basis to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or a consortium thereof) to support research activities to develop educational curricula, instructional material, teacher professional development, and evaluation methods for AI literacy at the K\u201312 level,\u201d the bill says.\ud83d\udca1Are you a teacher, student, or parent with a tip about AI in your school? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at sam.404. Otherwise, send me an email at sam@404media.co.It defines AI literacy as using AI; specifically, \u201chaving the age-appropriate knowledge and ability to use artificial intelligence effectively, to critically interpret outputs, to solve problems in an AI-enabled world, and to mitigate potential risks.\u201d\u00a0The bill is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, Google, OpenAI, Information Technology Industry Council, Software & Information Industry Association, Microsoft, and HP Inc.\u201cWith the growing adoption of artificial intelligence across industries, it\u2019s crucial that our young people and workforce are equipped to succeed in this evolving landscape,\u201d Schiff said in a press release.\u00a0\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence made it clear that we must support American education and the development of an AI-ready workforce,\u201d South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds wrote in the press release.The NSF has been without a director for a year after its former director resigned amid the Trump administration\u2019s mass-slashing of grants and jobs at the foundation. Last week, President Donald Trump fired all 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), which oversees the NSF, without explanation. Jim O\u2019Neill, Trump\u2019s nominee to direct the NSF next, is a financier with no research background who formerly worked for Peter Thiel.The grant would support \u201cAI literacy evaluation tools and resources for educators assessing proficiency in AI literacy,\u201d according to the bill. It would also fund \u201cprofessional development courses and experiences in AI literacy,\u201d and the development of \u201chands-on learning tools to assist in developing and improving AI literacy.\u201dMost importantly for real-world implications, it would fund changing the existing curriculum \u201cto incorporate AI literacy where appropriate, including responsible use of AI in learning.\u201d\u00a0Young people increasingly hate AI, and children already struggle with AI-enabled harassment that traumatizes them and disrupts their learning. And studies show kids are offloading learning onto AI models, undermining their education and social development.\u00a0Last year, the American Federation of Teachers announced a $23 million partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic to build an \u201cAI training hub for educators\u201d to show teachers how to do things like build lesson plans with AI. In January, the AFT announced it was leaving X because it was \u201csickened\u201d by the non-consensual sexual abuse material created using xAI\u2019s Grok image generator.\u00a0Six months ago, Schiff co-signed a letter urging Trump to take steps to protect consumers from energy costs incurred by data center development. \u201cSince his second inauguration, President Trump has cozied up to Meta, Google, Oracle, OpenAI, and other Big Tech companies, fast-tracking and pushing for the buildout of power-hungry data centers across the country,\u201d the letter said. Now, Schiff has \u201ccozied up\u201d to the world\u2019s biggest AI tech companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"