Amid a policy crackdown, it’s agreeing to avoid training on student data and prohibit AI companions.
Amid a policy crackdown, it’s agreeing to avoid training on student data and prohibit AI companions.
Microsoftagreed to a set of safety and privacy principlesfor AI in schools a week after two major school systems announced a ban on student-facing AI.
In a new agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the second-largest teachers union in the US, and its New York City affiliate the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Microsoft committed to ten principles that can be contractually enforced by school districts that adopt them. The terms include pledging not to train AI models on student or educator data, limiting the amount of data Microsoft collects in the first place and disclo…
The agreement comes afterNew York CityandLos Angelesboth implemented one-year bans on AI tools for many students, giving the districts time to consider the proper use and guardrails. As parents and some educators have resisted the use of AI and screens more generally in schools, Microsoft likely recognizes that similar decisions could be coming. Beginning in November, school districts can opt to add the terms to new or existing agreements without…
“[N]o one else, including the federal government, has stepped up to do the real work”
The AFT, for its part, has been critical of tech in schools, but also open to working with tech companies to prepare for the current AI wave. In aMay speech, AFT President Randi Weingarten called for a ban on screens before third grade as well as “student-facing AI” before middle school. But the group also announced a$23 million AI training hubfor educators funded by Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
In a statement about the new privacy agreement with Microsoft, Weingarten said the terms were “iron-clad” and necessary “because no one else, including the federal government, has stepped up to do the real work.” She added, “We can get angrier and angrier, or we can act decisively; anything less than legally enforceable provisions is simply a wish list.”