Following the announcement of the American Federation of Teachers, its New York affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers and Microsoft, critics have pushed back about whether the agreement addresses the questions that actually need answers.
The agreement, announced September 9 and set to take effect on November 1, outlines various standards that aim to increase the security of student and teacher information while using edtech tools, particularly those that have AI features. Commentators highlight, however, that this agreement can be interpreted as speeding past the issue of whether AI should even be used in schools. Increased privacy restrictions, in this way, does not settle the underlying debate of AI’s educational value and thus the agreement can be mistakenly be accepted as an indicator that this debate has been resolved when it in fact has not.
Whether school districts and/or other major tech players will follow suit remains to be seen. The country’s two largest school districts, Los Angeles and New York City, have both paused any use of AI until the best approach for incorporation can be determined. We continue to wait and see how, in the absence of federal regulations, big tech companies and educators further attempt to bridge the gap.
“I worry that a high-profile framework like this will be misunderstood and schools will think, ‘If they’re doing a good job on data privacy and safety, then that means we should be using the tool…’”
