We’ve already invited Artificial Intelligence (AI) into our homes; as I write Alexa is singing to me–and also listening to every word said in my home. Unsettling at best but not yet unplugged…
And now, as we recognize the one-year, February 18, anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and the 17 who lost their lives, comes word from USA Today’s Edward C. Baig that three tech companies use AI and so-called machine learning to scan students’ emails, texts, documents, and sometimes their social media activity, too.
The three–Bark Technologies, Gaggle.Net, and Securly, Inc.–reportedly look for:
- cyberbullying
- sexting
- drug and/or alcohol use
- depression
- students at risk of hurting themselves and/or classmates
Bark is free to schools, but is available to parents for $9/month or $99/year, whereas Gaggle charges $6 per student per year, and Scurly comes in at $3 per year.
And so as I so often say, stay tuned, as we settle into this brave new world of ours and please let me know if you embrace AI as a savior or see it as invisible threat to our well-being. Many thanks, Carol