Randi Weingarten and Brad Smith announce National AI Safety & Privacy Standard to protect students and educators
Randi Weingarten and Brad Smith announced a first-of-its-kind agreement establishing a National AI Safety & Privacy Standard for schools. The agreement, developed by the American Federation of Teachers, the United Federation of Teachers, and Microsoft, establishes 10 legally enforceable protections for students and educators. Under the deal, Microsoft agreed not to use student or teacher data to train AI models, except in limited safety and security circumstances. The standard ensures that students can never be tracked, AI systems cannot make decisions without human oversight, and Microsoft must provide parents and educators with clear, plain-language information about how its tools work. Weingarten stated that the agreement was necessary because the federal government has not yet established meaningful rules for AI in schools. The administration announced that school districts can incorporate these protections directly into their Microsoft contracts, making them contractually enforceable. Smith stated that Microsoft plans to offer these protections to every school district in the country starting November 1. The agreement follows a lack of federal and state regulations. While the administration announced that school districts can incorporate these protections directly into their Microsoft contracts, making them contractually enforceable, the deal provides a framework for schools to seek damages from Microsoft if the rules are broken.
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AFT, UFT and Microsoft announce ‘National AI Safety & Privacy Standard’ for schools to protect students, families and educators
Microsoft Source
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Microsoft, teachers unions strike AI privacy deal for schools
ABC7 New York
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As Congress Fails to Take Action on AI, AFT and Microsoft Reach 'First-of-Its-Kind' Deal to Protect Kids
Common Dreams