SAN ANTONIO, Texas: Tech giants are pouring millions into training U.S. teachers on artificial intelligence, forging an unusual alliance with educators' unions to bring AI into classrooms, and, in the process, shaping how the next generation will learn to use chatbots.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation's second-largest teachers union, has struck partnerships worth tens of millions with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic to fund AI workshops and build a national training hub in New York. The goal is to help teachers integrate AI into lesson plans, grading, and student engagement while maintaining oversight over how the tools are used.

"There is no one else who is helping us with this," said AFT President Randi Weingarten. "That's why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world. We went to them, they didn't come to us."

Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft will contribute US$12.5 million over five years, OpenAI $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic $500,000. Together, their support will help train 400,000 teachers over five years, through both virtual and in-person workshops.

Weingarten said she first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss collaboration. Later, she reached out to OpenAI to ensure an "agnostic" model that includes tools from multiple companies.

The country's largest union, the National Education Association (NEA), has launched a separate partnership with Microsoft. A $325,000 grant will fund online "microcredential" trainings for its 3 million members, aiming to reach 10,000 teachers this school year.

"We tailored our partnership very surgically," said Daaiyah Bilal, the NEA's senior director of education policy. "We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop."

Both unions emphasized that educators — not private funders — will design and lead all training. The sessions will cover AI ethics, safety, and privacy, and the unions will retain intellectual property rights over the course material.

The Trump administration has encouraged private investment in AI education through a new AI Education Task Force, calling on industry to fund national training programs. More than 100 companies have signed on so far, part of the president's push for "global dominance in artificial intelligence."

For Big Tech, education is a strategic frontier. Microsoft recently unveiled a $4 billion initiative to expand AI training, research, and free access to its CoPilot tools for schools and colleges in Washington state. Google has pledged $1 billion for AI education and will offer its Gemini for Education platform free to U.S. high schools.

Critics warn such partnerships could give tech firms outsized influence in classrooms. "These are private initiatives run by companies that have a stake," said Robin Lake, head of the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

Microsoft's Smith agreed that teachers should keep "a healthy dose of skepticism." "While it's easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences," he said. "We have to be careful. It's early days."

Still, many teachers already see promise. "If you can find ways to engage kids with new technology, you've just got to do that," said Gabriela Aguirre, a first-grade teacher in San Antonio, after attending one of the new AI workshops.