Google parent company Alphabet (GOOGL) has pledged to spend $1 billion over the next three years to provide artificial intelligence (AI) training and tools to U.S. universities and non-profits.
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More than 100 universities have signed on to Alphabet’s initiative, including some of America’s biggest public universities such as Texas A&M and the University of North Carolina. Participating schools will receive a combination of cash funding and resources such as cloud computing and AI training for their students, as well as research on AI topics and issues.
The billion-dollar figure includes paid AI tools, such as versions of Alphabet’s Gemini chatbot, which Google will provide to students free of charge. The company hopes to expand the program to every accredited non-profit college in the U.S. and is discussing plans for similar initiatives in other countries.
AI Education
Alphabet’s pledge comes as rivals such as OpenAI and Amazon (AMZN) have made similar commitments around AI education as the technology cascades throughout society. Microsoft (MSFT) recently pledged $4 billion to bolster AI in education. Analysts say the technology firms stand to win future business as students graduate and enter the workforce.
The AI education initiatives are also seen as a way for the tech companies to counter widespread criticism surrounding AI’s role in learning, from enabling cheating to harming critical thinking. Some analysts have called the AI initiatives good public relations. GOOGL stock is up 4% this year.
Is GOOGL Stock a Buy?
The stock of Alphabet has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 36 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 27 Buy and nine Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average GOOGL price target of $216.78 implies 10.42% upside from current levels.
