Friend or foe? Corporate involvement in education

Google Canada has given $5 million in grant money to the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) to enhance artificial intelligence (AI) education in post-secondary schools across the country. The purpose of this is to integrate AI curriculum materials into pre-existing courses, as well as to foster AI literacy and prepare students for careers in fields using AI. Regardless of the implications of promoting AI, is it moral for universities to partner with corporations?

Google.org has large grants to support various organizations and initiatives. It has given millions of dollars in grants to organizations to support the AI for the Global Goals Impact Challenge. It isn’t the first time that Google has dipped its feet in the pool of educational funding concerning AI. However, this grant to the Amii could directly influence the education students across the country receive, including us at the University of Alberta.

Some may see this investment as a partnership to increase educational resources, but it raises some serious concerns about the amount of influence that mega-corporations have over education. Education plays a large role in what people become, and how they interact with society. For many people, it helps to determine social roles in our world. Education encourages critical thinking, and can determine career paths. Schools act as a socializing agent and teach cultural behaviours. The purpose of education is not to tell you what to think but to look at the world with an open mind. We must learn while recognizing biases and exchanging opinions. Education should promote open dialogue and encourage people to express their thoughts freely. Allowing the influence of private companies into academia defeats that purpose. It creates serious violations of the autonomy that education should have. 

Without sugarcoating it, every corporation’s main priority is it’s stockholders. Even corporations like Google, which operates under the guise of social philanthropy, still care about maximizing profits above all else. It is important to understand the financial pressures that face our education system in Canada that may make this kind of investment more appealing. However, sacrificing intellectual freedom is not worth fiscal stability. Whatever monetary benefit we receive is short-term, it does not outweigh the long-term influence of corporate entities. 

Fundamentally, education has a social responsibility to society. It plays a vital role in fostering conscious change and encouraging social equality, as well as educated political participation. Corporations do not have these same responsibilities. Corporations can create inequalities and reduce social cohesion. They prioritize profits over people. Allowing that influence upon education will take away personal freedom and individual thought from higher learning. It will set a precedent of prioritizing profit that will spread to other aspects of society.

Receiving financial aid from private companies sets a dangerous precedent in Canada. Allowing corporate involvement in academia defeats its purpose. We cannot effectively support the dissemination of knowledge or foster critical thinking when corporations like Google have a say in the development of curriculum materials. We should not allow our future to be directed by organizations that inherently focus on profits and stockholders.