Microsoft Minecraft and Amazon Music to Headline Code.org's 2024 Hour of Code

theodp writes: Amid news reports of old 2016 email from Elon Musk (released as Microsoft was added to Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI) expressing concerns that OpenAI would "seem like Microsoft's marketing bitch" were it to accept a Microsoft offer calling for a $50 million discount on Azure credits in return for a promise by the nonprofit to 'evangelize' Azure as its preferred Cloud provider, tech-backed nonprofit Code.org interestingly issued a Thursday press-release announcing that Microsoft and Amazon will again provide signature tutorials for this year's Hour of Code for the world's K-12 schoolchildren. Microsoft and Amazon are Code.org's largest 'Lifetime Supporters', having donated somewhere north of $60 million to the nonprofit. An Amazon AWS Case Study features Code.org employees' endorsement of AWS as the Cloud provider behind the Hour of Code, and Code.org website pages sport "Powered by AWS" logos.

"This year, Code.org, in partnership with Amazon, introduces Music Lab: Jam Session, featuring new AI capabilities," explains Code.org of the new Amazon tutorial, which is accompanied by videos featuring Amazon Music employees. "Students can also explore career paths specifically in music and technology with the Amazon Music Career Tour."

"Minecraft Education has released a show stopping new Hour of Code tutorial: The Show Must Go On!," Code.org says of the new Microsoft tutorial. "Code.org celebrates a decade of partnership with Minecraft this year, reaching more than 300 million sessions of Minecraft Hour of Code since 2015!"

Together with OpenAI and others, Microsoft and Amazon have also partnered with Code.org on its TeachAI initiative to evangelize the use of and teaching of AI in schools. AI was chosen as the theme of last year's Hour of Code, which featured Microsoft and Amazon AI-themed tutorials as well as videos featuring employees from Amazon, Microsoft, and OpenAI. In an interesting coincidence, the Microsoft VP added as a defendant last week to Musk's amended OpenAI lawsuit was Dee Templeton, who the complaint explains serves as an advisor to Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott and was appointed to OpenAI's Board as a non-voting representative of Microsoft but "stepped down amid renewed enforcement by the FTC of the Clayton Act’s prohibition on interlocking directorates." Scott, who is credited as the crafter of Microsoft's OpenAI relationship, is also a Code.org Board member.