In her new book, New York Times reporter Natasha Singer documents how Apple, Microsoft and other tech companies embedded themselves in K-12 education over the past 15 years, supplying free coding curricula and tools like Swift and Minecraft to promote computer science as a path to jobs. She argues AI companies are now pitching schools with a nearly identical playbook, offering free resources while cultivating future customers and workers.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-10
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly attempted to influence California Governor Gavin Newsom before state lawmakers passed a bill regulating how AI chatbots interact with minors. The legislation, aimed at establishing safety guardrails for children's use of companion chatbots, has cleared the legislature but still awaits Newsom's signature to become law.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-01
A New York Times reporter who has tracked tech industry influence in education for over a decade argues in a new book, 'Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools,' that major technology companies help write learning standards, sit on curriculum committees, and push schools to adopt industry-aligned subjects like coding and AI. The reporter contends these efforts often function as marketing rather than neutral education, giving students and teachers a sanitized view of tech products and their risks.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-30
Roblox announced a crackdown on games within its platform that incentivize children to engage in prolonged, compulsive scrolling behavior. The move targets experiences designed to keep young users hooked through reward loops tied to endless content consumption rather than meaningful play.
games.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-28
MIT Technology Review has published its annual Kids issue, exploring how children are experiencing and adapting to a world saturated with AI and technology, including topics like AI companionship, monitoring apps, and schools' use of AI. Separately, in an interview featured in the same roundup, Bill Gates told MIT Technology Review's Mat Honan that he believes society has already crossed certain safety thresholds with artificial intelligence, expressing concern about risks ranging from economic disruption to loss of control over AI systems.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-08-26
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