{
"type": "rich",
"version": "1.0",
"provider_name": "Action Network",
"provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org",
"html": "",
"author_name": "Lila Byock",
"author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/users/lila-byock/profile",
"title": "No to Big Tech Bullies in Our Schools",
"thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/events/photos/003/735/051/normal/Copy_of_No_Big_Tech_Bullies_Rally(2).png",
"description": "Parents, students and educators have had enough of tech companies making harmful and dangerous decisions about what and how kids learn in public schools. Come rally with us in front of Google's Venice office on Wednesday afternoon. We'll meet at the giant binoculars at 3:30PM. We know kids are out of school that day, so this is a family friendly event! Bring your signs telling Google to stop forcing their dangerous AI products onto our children. Sponsored by Schools Beyond Screens LA Why should Google and other Big Tech and ed tech companies have more say over what is happening in our public schools than educators, families and school boards? They shouldn't! Last week alone: Google demanded that schools either use their AI product or lose access to Google's search function. As Schools Beyond Screens founder Lila Byock put it, "Google forced its AI products into classrooms and parents fought back. Now Google is refusing to take no for an answer. The company’s hostile ultimatum is a desperate attempt to maintain its stranglehold on public education. This kind of bullying has no place in our schools. Educational value—not shareholder value—must determine which products are used by students." And on Thursday, a lawsuit was filed against Google for the harm done via its "AI Mode" embedded in search products on every students' Google account and Chromebook. Emma v. Google: “New Product Defect Suit Alleges Google Snuck Its Dangerous Gemini AI into K-12 Schools, Causing Teen Girl to Suffer Acute Psychological Crisis and Suicidality” The lawsuit was filed by the family of a 7th grader who for months had been goaded on by AI Mode in suicidal ideation on her school Chromebook. Also on Thursday, Google—along with Meta and TikTok—sued California to block a law protecting children from addictive design features in their apps. Under pressure from parent activists, LAUSD has blocked student access to generative AI products on district devices. But now Google is attempting to undermine this decision by forcing students to use AI search. The price of a public education shouldn’t be kids' personal data, or worse yet their mental health or even their life. There is no evidence that the ubiquity of Chromebooks, Google Classroom and Google’s genAI monster has improved academic outcomes, and we see the harm building by day. The research shows that providing kids with instantaneous access to answers short-circuits the valuable, strenuous tasks of thinking, discovering and creating—the core experiences of the learning process. Establishing trusted relationships with adults in their school makes students more likely to attend consistently, to learn what we as a society hope they learn, to alert adults when they have fears, worries and safety concerns about themselves or their peers. And, ultimately, the devastating environmental impact of hyperscale data centers polluting our air and water and escalating the warming of our planet is hurting our both our kids’ future and their present existence! We are rallying to say NO to the tech industry dictating the terms of our kids’ educational experiences in public schools. Our kids will not be guinea pigs for these harmful products!",
"url": "https://actionnetwork.org/events/no-to-big-tech-bullies-in-our-schools-3"
}