Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
A protester stands near the US Department of Education headquarters after the agency said it would lay off nearly half its staff.
The battle over Department of Education cuts intensifies
The US Department of Education, which Donald Trump has sought to dismantle, is laying off roughly half of its 4,100-strong workforce. Education Secretary Linda McMahoncouched the layoffs in terms of “efficiency,” “accountability,” and deploying resources to serve “students, parents, and teachers.” Critics say otherwise, arguing that cuts are part of a long Republican battle to eliminate federal involvement in education, including its mandate to enforce civil rights protections in schools, and leave the matter to state and local governments – or to private schools and families themselves through homeschooling.
A majority of Americans oppose shuttering the department – and a mere 26% support it. Closing the agency requires an act of Congress, but the Trump administration has the power to limit its resources and, thus, its capacity to operate. The White House, including its Department of Government Efficiency, is already at work doing just that, including freezing nearly a billion dollars in spending last February.
The National Education Association warns that losing the department or gutting its funding will harm low-income communities that rely on it for support while undermining civil rights protections for race, gender, and disability. They warn that 180,000 teaching jobs could go and billions in federal funding, a loss that would hit poor and disabled students particularly hard. Student loans could also be at risk, making college accessibility even tougher than it already is. Cuts will also put national education performance assessments at risk, worrying some that education standards will fall.
On Thursday, 21 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration in response to the layoffs, arguing that they were “illegal and unconstitutional.”
The Google AI logo is being displayed on a smartphone with Gemini in the background.
Hard Numbers: Bye-bye Bard, Arm’s up, Robots took my job, Super Bowl ad blitz
60: The British chip designer Arm Holdings is experiencing a market surge. The company’s stock saw a 60% increase after positive financial results and a rosy outlook. The company, which licenses its chip designs, attributes increased demand to the AI boom.
4,600: Artificial intelligence has already led to 4,600 layoffs in the US, according to the firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. And that’s a conservative estimate. Unlike with robotics breakthroughs of yore, this wave of artificial intelligence seems laser-focused on displacing white-collar workers.
7 million: AI made its way into some of this year’s Super Bowl ads — 30-second commercials that sold for about $7 million. Etsy debuted its AI shopping assistant, Microsoft boasted its Copilot AI business tool, and Google highlighted how its Pixel 8 phone uses the technology to help blind people take photos.