UCLA expanded students’ access to artificial intelligence tools within their Google accounts Sept. 23, sparking concern among some students and professors.
The university gave students free access to a Google Workspace for Education Plus plan and integrated Google’s Gemini AI agent into their Workspace applications, such as Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, Chief Information Officer Lucy Avetisyan announced in a campuswide email.
Google Workspace for Education Plus includes greater access to Notebook, Google’s AI-powered online research tool. Gemini AI is a large language model that has chatbot functionalities including code, text, image, audio and video generation.
The changes will allow UCLA to oversee more appropriate AI usage, Avetisyan said in the email.
Elisa Lopez Rochin, a fourth-year art and design media arts student, said that while she sees the value in incorporating AI in students’ learning and studies, she believes it can encourage students to take shortcuts, despite guidelines set by professors.
“At this point, it’s up to the student if they want to learn and use their brains,” she said.
Avetisyan said in the email that the new set of AI tools does not mean unrestricted use is allowed. Faculty can decide whether or not they will allow students to use the expanded AI tools in their classes, she added.
However, some professors are cautious about embracing the increased accessibility of AI tools.
Hollian Wint, an assistant professor of African history, said she believes the university should be doing more to train both students and faculty in responsible AI usage.
“A lot of the questions that I get are from students who are like, ‘I don’t know where the line is between plagiarism and using AI legitimately,’” she said. “We don’t know either – it’s a whole new world.”
Wint added that she is concerned about AI’s environmental impact.
“I don’t think those are being taken into account by the administration at all,” she said.
The university’s increase in AI access comes amid a UC-wide push to further integrate the technology into its systems. The University plans to expand systemwide contracts with AI companies, including Anthropic and OpenAI, said members of the AI Steering Committee, a faculty board created by UC President James Milliken, at a September UC Board of Regents meeting.
UCLA also started offering ChatGPT Edu subscriptions – which include access to OpenAI’s more powerful AI models – to faculty in fall 2025, according to the university’s Digital & Technology Solutions webpage.
Corinne Bendersky, a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, said in an emailed statement that greater availability of AI could interfere with faculty members’ assessment of student learning.
“It can also create tension in the faculty-student relationship when faculty feel they have to design ‘AI-proof’ assessments that students find infantilizing,” Bendersky said.
Paul Eggert, a professor of computer science at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, said in an emailed statement that reliance on AI could impact student learning.
“Students who ask these models to just do the exercises end-to-end can be lulled into the false belief that they are ready for prime time in software development,” Eggert said.
Lopez Rochin said despite professors’ efforts to restrict AI usage – such as mandating students use physical notebooks in class – she believes students will find a way around these limitations.
UCLA Media Relations did not respond in time to a request for comment on the workspace upgrade.
“We want to know what our students are learning, not what AI says,” Bendersky said.
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