To enhance data privacy for educators and students, Alphabet Inc.'s
What Happened: Google will integrate the additional Gemini data privacy protections into Workspace for Education accounts at no extra cost. However, this means relying on the older Gemini 1.0 Pro model instead of newer, more updated models like Gemini 1.5 Pro or Flash, which are designed to provide more accurate answers, reported The Verge.
The Gemini for Google Workspace will be launched on May 23 and will be available in two packages for institutions. The first is the lower-cost Gemini Education, which has a monthly usage limit, and the second tier is Education Premium, which offers full access to Workspace AI tools and additional features like AI notes/summaries for Google Meet and data loss prevention.
Additionally, Chromebooks, which are popular in the education sector, will receive new accessibility features in the coming months. The Screen magnifier on Chromebooks will gain the ability to follow along with the words as they are read out loud when used in combination with Select to Speak. Users can also make the cursor bigger and turn off the blinking text indicator.
Why It Matters: The introduction of the Gemini AI model for schools comes after Google announced the new Gemini models at the Google I/O 2024. The tech giant has previously revealed that over one and a half million developers are using Gemini to build and debug code, get insights, and build AI applications.
Last month, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai expressed satisfaction with the development of the company's Gemini AI despite controversies surrounding the chatbot. He highlighted the significant advancements made in the development of the Gemini AI and other models during the company's first-quarter earnings call.
"We are also pleased with the progress we are seeing with Gemini and Gemini Advanced through the Gemini app on Android and the Google app on iOS," he said at the time.
