Google CEO Sundar Pichai meets 4-H students in Pittsburgh as company invests in AI learning

By Evan Robinson-Johnson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It’s not every day a high school student gets to directly pitch the head of Google.

But that was the opportunity Daejour Pinckney, a freshman at Westinghouse Academy, found himself in Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m literally sweating buckets right now,” he said seconds after shaking hands with Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

During his first visit to Google Pittsburgh since 2017, Mr. Pichai spent a few minutes listening to Daejour and a small group of peers describe projects they are pursuing through the youth organization 4-H.

Google.org, the company’s philanthropy arm, announced Wednesday that it will provide $250,000 to Pennsylvania’s 4-H chapter to “support rural Pennsylvania students and educators as they learn to use AI effectively in the classroom and workplace.”

That funding is part of a national $25 million grant program Google.org announced the same day that will support five education organizations — ISTE, 4-H, CodePath, aiEDU, and STEM From Dance — as they provide AI skills training to 500,000 educators and students across the country.

Some of those teachers converged at Google Pittsburgh on Wednesday for a listening session that Maggie Johnson, global head and vice president of Google.org, called “really useful.”

She was similarly enamored by the students.

“I’m so impressed with what I saw,” Ms. Johnson told the Post-Gazette.

“It’s one thing to have a class and learn about digital literacy or AI literacy. It’s another to actually figure out, ‘Well, I have a problem I want to solve. How do I actually take this technology and use it?’”

At Westinghouse Academy, the problem was the football team’s dilapidated practice field. Daejour, a defensive end, used AI and robotics to paint the white yard lines.

Another student, Avery Goazinger, focused on the potential harms of technology, especially mental health.

When she asked Mr. Pichai if he had any questions, the executive instead offered praise.

“Well done,” he told her, before posing for a photo with the group. Mr. Pichai was scheduled to speak at an event at Carnegie Mellon University later in the afternoon.

Google says its work with the five educational organizations will emphasize how AI can be used responsibly to improve productivity and learning. The company has a $75 million AI Opportunity Fund centered on local technology trainings.

“4-H is this excellent example of how we can reach rural students and help them understand how to use the technology,” Ms. Johnson said.

4-H got its start more than a century ago in Ohio, where it was first called “The Tomato Club” or the “Corn Growing Club,” according to the organization’s website. The Pennsylvania charter launched in 1912.

Since then, the programming has expanded far beyond agriculture and animals, though it maintains a connection to those rural values, said Matthew Crutchman, who oversees Pennsylvania operations.

“Over the last few years, we’ve really tried to tie any of our projects in 4-H to STEM,” he said, using the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.

One student, for instance, Reed Messer, calls himself “a suburban cowboy.” He found a way to share his love of horseback riding in the Metaverse using virtual and augmented reality.

The students presented to a host of Google Pittsburgh engineers on Wednesday who pushed them to think more critically.

“What’s your design strategy?” Matt Holloway, an engineering manager, asked two students.

“Pretty much just wing it,” was the initial reply.

But moments later, they were outlining a sketch, refining the model, and taking Mr. Holloway’s advice to “fail fast” and learn.

When the students asked for more wisdom, Mr. Holloway reminded them that even the most complex AI software is built by humans. It’s only as good as the perspectives of the people building it, he said.

“The best system is going to be one that has diverse perspectives,” he said. “That’s why it’s always good to team up.”

Over with Daejour, another Google engineer had her own encouraging message.

“If you’re interested in a future in robotics,” said Valerie Pearce, “you’re in the right city.”