SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Alphabet's

Google on Wednesday announced a three-year, $1 billion

commitment to provide artificial intelligence training and tools

to U.S. higher education institutions and nonprofits.

More than 100 universities have signed on to the initiative

so far, including some of the nation's largest public university

systems such as Texas A&M and the University of North Carolina.

Participating schools may receive cash funding and

resources, such as cloud computing credits towards AI training

for students as well as research on AI-related topics.

The billion-dollar figure also includes the value of paid AI

tools, such as an advanced version of the Gemini chatbot, which

Google will give to college students for free.

Google hopes to expand the program to every accredited nonprofit

college in the U.S. and is discussing similar plans in other

countries, Senior Vice President James Manyika said in an

interview.

He declined to specify how much Google is earmarking in direct

funds to external institutions relative to footing its own cloud

and subscription bills.

The announcement comes as rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic and

Amazon ( AMZN ) have made similar pushes around AI in education

as the technology pervades society. Microsoft ( MSFT ) in July

pledged $4 billion to bolster AI in education globally.

By evangelizing their products to students, tech firms

further stand to win business deals once those users enter the

workforce.

A growing body of research has mapped concerns around AI's

role in education, from enabling cheating to eroding critical

thinking, prompting some schools to consider bans.

Manyika said Google had not faced resistance from administrators

since it began to plot its education initiative earlier this

year, but "many more questions" about AI-related concerns

remain.

"We're hoping to learn together with these institutions

about how best to use these tools," he said, adding that the

insights could help shape future product decisions.