Three AI Giants Announce Joint Initiative to Train 400,000 Educators

On July 09, 2025 the big Ai tech giant OpenAI is claiming to democratise AI education by launching large-scale initiatives in the United States. The company has partnered with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to launch the National Academy for AI Instruction, a five-year initiative aimed at training four lakh K-12 teachers, nearly one in 10 across the country, to use and teach AI in classrooms effectively.

The initiative is expected to reach approximately 400,000 educators – that is, roughly one in ten US teachers – by 2030.

AI Giant Investment

OpenAI will contribute $10 million to the project, comprising $8 million in direct funding and $2 million in in-kind resources, including access to computing tools and technical guidance. Other partners include the United Federation of Teachers, Microsoft, and Anthropic. The flagship campus will be established in New York City, with plans to scale nationally through regional hubs.

Teachers who join the program will get hands-on workshops and online courses to learn about AI. They’ll also be able to create their own AI tools that work specifically for their classrooms, get help fitting AI into their current teaching methods, and be first in line to try new educational AI features from OpenAI.

This program comes after recent research showed that most teachers are already using AI. A study by Gallup found that 6 out of 10 educators have tried AI tools, and many say it saves them up to 6 hours of work each week.

In a statement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasised the importance of placing teachers at the centre of integrating AI into schools: “Educators make the difference, and they should lead this next shift with AI,” he said. “We’re here to support them.”

Similarly, AFT president Randi Weingarten highlighted the need for responsible deployment and guardrails: “AI holds tremendous promise but huge challenges,” he stated, “and it’s our job to make sure AI serves our students and society, not the other way around.”

ChatGPT is trying out a new ‘Study Together’ tool for students

OpenAI is testing a new feature in ChatGPT called ‘Study Together’ that you can find in the menu. This tool could turn ChatGPT into a helpful study partner. Instead of just giving you the answer right away, it will push you to figure things out yourself so you actually learn.

The name suggests that several students could join the same study session and work together. It looks like OpenAI’s way of competing with Google’s learning tool. OpenAI hasn’t said when everyone will get to use Study Together, or if only paid ChatGPT users will have access.

ChatGPT has already become popular with both teachers and students. Teachers use it to plan lessons, while students use it like a tutor or sometimes to write their assignments for them.

A recent study from MIT found that depending too much on ChatGPT and similar AI tools is making people worse at thinking through problems on their own. With many people worried that AI is hurting our creativity, this new Study Together feature might show a better way to use AI in schools.