Schools use the AI ​​tracking software on student equipment.

When pandemic met for the first time, many students received tablets or laptops from their schools. The schools also wanted to know what the students did on these devices. The demand for AI-driven software to monitor the digital activities of the students grew.

This monitoring software is the subject of a new investigation by the Associated Press and the Seattle Times, which Claire Bryan has co -established. Stephanie Hughes from Marketplace asked her what kind of things could mark this monitoring software. The following is an edited transcript of your conversation:

Claire Bryan: The students wrote about thoughts about suicide or only problems in a relationship with a parent or a peer, all possible. Sometimes it was pretty harmless, a student wrote a short story or a scene in a game for the school game, and it had someone pushed or pushed someone or simply pushed or made a remark about shooting basketball tires.

Stephanie Hughes: And what happens when the software discovers something like that?

Bryan: The AI ​​program will draw attention to the company's employees. And then, if it is particularly worrying, the employee will check it and send an e -mail or call or text, depending on the serious situation to a school district manager. And then the headmaster will often decide whether he wants to speak to the student or the parent himself or whether he wants to send a school consultant. If there are serious cases, the company sometimes calls the police directly if they cannot receive the school administrator or consultant. Or even if you contact the school district administrator, the administrator, if you cannot contact the family or get in touch with the parent, you can also choose to call the police and usually ask for a social examination where the police go to the student's house to check whether it is okay.

Hughes: What is your feeling for how widespread this software is? How big is school monitoring of school surveillance essentially?

Bryan: Yes, it's big. It definitely grows. What is really different now is that these companies appear that reviews or monitored by monitoring or monitoring everything that the student creates on the computer -e -mails to teachers, texts or chats with friends in Google documents. So that's a lot. I mean that it was something that gave really mature conditions for school districts during the pandemic, who suddenly learned all their children at home and had a way to protect children. The conditions were really ripe so that these products were really appealing. At the same time, there was a crisis for mental health, increased fear and depression rates and suicide thoughts as well as the risk of shootings at school. So there was a lot going on what made this more intrusive surveillance really popular. In addition, there are also a number of other options on how ED Tech monitoring companies are in schools as there are companies that offer facial recognition of artificial intelligence or weapons recognition. They only offer many different things, such as electronic Hall passport or visitor monitoring systems that only use tools, teachers who use teachers, the teachers.

Hughes: Can you give me a feeling for how much district spends?

Bryan: Yes, the Vancouver district therefore spends around $ 100,000 a year. Gaggle, the company with which you were in the contract, costs it 5 US dollars per year to offer this service for every student laptop.

Hughes: You have a quote in this piece, Claire, from a surveillance -Tech manager who says: “If you do not monitor children, it is as if you are releasing them on a digital playground without a fences or a break.” Tell me more about this approach.

Bryan: I think that goes back to these companies that see these devices as the property of the school district. And just like we adults, when we work on our company laptop, we have an understanding that we do not have this device, and so it is not our private space. Again and again the educators told me that these laptops were for school work. They are educational. They are for children to bring them home and do their homework. So if you think about it with this way of thinking, you can understand why school district officers want to monitor this laptop or this playground because it is for a school purpose. But what we found when we looked at these data records that were computers' screenshots is certain [kids] Also do their school work, but they do so much more on this school area. I was really impressed how personally and intimate you really blew your hearts and souls on these computers and really talk about really intensive personal things. So it is very clear that the students do not only use it for school work. And even if you are aware that this device is not your own property, it often slips out of the opinion that this is the property of your school district or that the school district can observe you exactly as we are as adults [when] If we know that a company is watching our activities, we also forget all the time.

Hughes: What kind of risks are there with the use of the software?

Bryan: So we found that the way this company shared the screens of the students with the school district administrators was through a link that provided a screenshot of this computer of this student. And this link was accessible without any kind of protection or password to access this link. And the company said that this was necessary because these warnings often go to school administrators in the middle of the night. You wake up, you just check your phone. You have to see the alarm quickly and you have to address it quickly, because, like a student thinks about suicide, you have a question of minutes, and so you have the feeling that it is important to keep these links really accessible. But what it also opens the door is that other people will receive access to this link within the 72 hours – or in this case the company had not ensured that they run after 72 hours so that everyone could see something. So I think the risk is, it only shows how much data about students are collected, and even if a school tries are trying to do it right, or even if a company tries to protect the student data, how this type of thing happens and everything on the Internet that could stumble about.

Hughes: Do we have an idea of ​​what the long -term effects on this type of surveillance in schools use?

Bryan: I spoke to many experts about the psychology aspect of the development tool for the students. We don't know where we are sitting. However, we know that students, especially students from minority populations, LGBTQ students, trans students, we know that they often go online for support. And as much as the Internet and social media can be harmful to the mental health of a student, it also offers a really large support system and can actually be a development product in order to have a place online to explore your thoughts about identity and to ask big philosophical questions about the world. And so I think that there is something to say that students do not feel that they have a safe place or a private space to explore all of these thoughts, and today they will grow up in a completely different way than many adults who have probably grew up where we may have access to a telephone or computer and everything we wanted were looking for Google and could explore all these questions on the Internet.

Hughes: Yes, I thought a lot about it because I have the feeling that we live our life in this technology, and it is really difficult to change the corridors when they are on a school -based device or a work equipment. What advice do you have for children and your parents and educators about this software?

Bryan: Parents and children should ensure: If you receive your laptop, you usually sign a responsible usage form or some forms from the district and pay attention to these forms, not only sign, but really read it to understand exactly what kind of surveillance happens every day on your laptop. And then you can ask your school district if you can unsubscribe. For example, we found in Oklahoma, there was a parent who could not unsubscribe from surveillance, but Vancouver District said that if they wanted, families could unsubscribe and find a different way. So I think that it is really a challenge to disappoint yourself, because more and more is offered digitally these days. But if you really take care of it and worry about it, you could speak to your school district and see if there was a different way.

Hughes: How did both the school districts and the companies they reported about their reporting? What did you say?

Bryan: They were really open to feedback. Both the school district as well as the CEO and founder of the company sat down with us for a long time and answered all of our questions. You understood how controversial this topic is and I think you understood the privacy concerns. But I also think that they were quite relentless than they believe that the software ultimately helps them to connect with the students and help them to help the students if they really needed them so that they did not feel that the data protection concerns had the other concerns about psychological health and security that they were of the opinion that the software and the service could address.

If you or someone you know are in a crisis of mental health, you can call the crisis on mental health and suicide prevention at 988.