Free AI training comes to California colleges -- but at what cost?

As artificial intelligence replaces entry-level jobs, California's universities and community colleges are offering a glimmer of hope for students: free AI training that will help them master the new technology. "You're seeing in certain coding spaces significant declines in hiring for obvious reasons," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in early August from the seventh floor of Google's San Francisco office. Flanked by leadership from California's higher education systems, he called attention to the recent layoffs at Microsoft, Google's parent company, Alphabet, and at nearby Salesforce Tower, home to the tech company that is still the city's largest private employer. Now, some of those companies -- including Google and Microsoft -- will offer a suite of AI resources free to California schools and universities. In return, the companies could gain access to millions of new users.