AFT launches National Academy for AI Instruction with tech giants

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in collaboration with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and major technology companies including Microsoft Corp., OpenAI, and Anthropic, has announced the establishment of the National Academy for AI Instruction. This initiative aims to provide free artificial intelligence training and curriculum access to all 1.8 million AFT members, focusing initially on K-12 educators.

Located in a modern facility in Manhattan, the academy is designed to address the lack of structured AI training and serve as a national model for integrating AI into education. "To best serve students, we must ensure teachers have a strong voice in the development and use of AI," stated Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft.

The launch event took place at UFT's headquarters, where hundreds of educators participated in a three-day session featuring hands-on AI training. AFT President Randi Weingarten remarked on the importance of ensuring that AI serves educational purposes rather than replacing traditional teacher-student interactions: “The direct connection between a teacher and their kids can never be replaced by new technologies."

The partnership between AFT and tech firms began with symposiums hosted by Microsoft and AFL-CIO in 2023. The program intends to create an educational infrastructure for AI instruction across schools. Chris Lehane from OpenAI emphasized that this initiative seeks to benefit both teachers and students by empowering educators with new technological tools.

Anthropic Co-founder Jack Clark highlighted the significance of introducing AI to educators now: "We're at a pivotal moment in education." The academy will start operations this fall, aiming over five years to support 400,000 educators who will reach more than 7.2 million students.

Training modules will include workshops, online courses, and practical sessions aimed at equipping teachers with skills needed for an AI-driven future. Michael Mulgrew from UFT expressed hope that these tools would enhance teachers' instructional capabilities without replacing their unique voices.

Teachers like Marlee Katz see potential benefits from using AI tools: “These tools don’t take away your voice.” Vincent Pilato noted that working with AI is transformative for teaching methods.

This collaboration among Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and AFT strives to democratize access to AI skills so that all students are prepared for an evolving technological landscape. Designed by experts in both fields, it aims to establish standards for integrating technology into teaching environments while offering ongoing educator support.

Roy Bahat proposed the academy concept; he joins its board as part of his role leading Bloomberg Beta's venture capital efforts. For more information about this initiative visit AIinstruction.org.