In Machines We Trust: Who watches AI watching students?

A boy wrote about his suicide attempt. He didn’t realize his school's software was watching.

While schools commonly use AI to sift through students' digital lives and flag keywords that may be considered concerning, critics ask at what cost to privacy.

We Meet:

Jeff Patterson, CEO of Gaggle

Mark Keierleber, investigative reporter at The 74

Teeth Logsdon-Wallace, student

Elizabeth Laird, director of Equity in Civic Technology at Center for Democracy & Technology

Sounds From:

"Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist" from the band Ramshackle Glory's 2011 album Live the Dream.

"Spying or protecting students? CBS46 Investigates school surveillance software" from CBS46 in Atlanta, GA on February 14, 2022.

"Student Surveillance Software: Schools know what your child is doing online. Do you?" from WSPA7 News in Greenville, SC on May 5, 2021.

"Spying or protecting students? CBS46 Investigates school surveillance software" from News 5 in Cleveland, OH on February 5, 2020.

Credits:

This episode was produced by Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens with reporting from Mark Keierleber. It was edited by Jennifer Strong and Michael Reilly, and mixed by Garret Lang with original music from Jacob Gorski. Art by Stephanie Arnett.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/oct/12/school-surveillance-dragnet-suicide-attempt-healing

https://www.the74million.org/contributor/mark-keierleber/

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