Salesforce pumps another $5M into SFUSD
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Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at Dreamforce last year. Photo: Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Salesforce has injected $5 million for artificial intelligence education into San Francisco's public schools.
Why it matters: AI is one of the most consequential technologies of our time, and the grant money is intended to support STEM education and AI literacy in local public schools.
Driving the news: Salesforce's grant to the San Francisco Unified School District is part of a $13 million portfolio of grants to public school districts nationwide to help students and teachers prepare for AI, the company announced Monday.
- Salesforce also gave a $5 million grant to the Oakland Unified School District.
- Over the past 12 years, Salesforce has given over $77 million to SFUSD, according to the company.
Zoom in: With this latest grant, Salesforce is "really trying to help the districts navigate" the "massive swell of AI technologies that are entering the classrooms, whether they like it or not," Salesforce chief impact officer Suzanne DiBianca told the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The money will enable schools to offer students access to AI bots that can guide them through college applications, offer tutoring and help write resumes, she said.
Between the lines: As of early this year, California was just one of two states that had issued policy guidance for K-12 schools on artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT.
- The California Department of Education looks at AI as an opportunity to "enhance and improve various aspects of teaching and learning," according to its posted AI education guidance.
- San Francisco public school teachers, meanwhile, have already begun integrating AI into their curriculums.
What they're saying: "Not only is San Francisco the AI capital of the world, we are a city that has long been committed to education and career development," Mayor London Breed said in a press statement.
Zoom out: The grant comes as SFUSD navigates financial turmoil, facing a $420 million deficit at the start of the 2024-25 school year.
- The school district, which had planned this week to announce a recommended portfolio of schools to close, has postponed the announcement to October.