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Ed tech startup behind L.A. schools’ failed $6M AI chatbot files for bankruptcy
The education technology company behind Los Angeles schools’ failed $6 million foray into artificial intelligence was in a Delaware bankruptcy court Tuesday seeking relief from its creditors and to sell off its meager assets before shutting down entirely. The latest chapter in AllHere’s dizzying collapse revealed more information about the once-lauded company’s finances and its...
By Mark Keierleber | September 16, 2024
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From trauma to turnout: Inside David Hogg’s $8M bid to elect young progressives
This story was published in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to reporting on gun violence. You can sign up for its newsletters here. In a video posted to YouTube, 24-year-old school shooting survivor David Hogg points to a whiteboard and outlines a five-step plan to reshape America. Ever since Hogg survived the...
By Mark Keierleber | September 11, 2024
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The key investors who once touted L.A. Schools’ failed $6M AI chatbot go silent
Earlier this summer, leaders at the ed tech company AllHere, contracted by Los Angeles schools to build a heavily hyped $6 million AI chatbot, offered assurances to one of its investors. At the time, principals with Boston Impact Initiative were finalizing the firm’s annual impact assessment of AllHere, a 2016 startup that offered a tech-driven...
By Mark Keierleber | July 30, 2024
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L.A. schools probe charges its hyped, now-defunct AI chatbot misused student data
Independent Los Angeles school district investigators have opened an inquiry into claims that its $6 million AI chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” celebrated as an unprecedented learning acceleration tool until the company that built it collapsed and the district was forced to pull the plug — put students’ personal information in peril. Investigators with the...
By Mark Keierleber | July 15, 2024
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Whistleblower: L.A. schools’ chatbot misused student data as tech co. crumbled
Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product. As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot...
By Mark Keierleber | July 1, 2024
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L.A. schools investigate data breach as FCC approves $200M cybersecurity pilot
On the same day that millions of sensitive records purportedly stolen from the Los Angeles school district were posted for sale on the dark web, the Federal Communications Commission approved a $200 million pilot program to help K-12 schools and libraries nationwide fight an onslaught of cyberattacks. A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson confirmed...
By Mark Keierleber | June 18, 2024
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Lawmakers duel with tech execs on social media harms to youth mental health
During a hostile Senate hearing Wednesday that sometimes devolved into bickering, lawmakers from across the political spectrum accused social media companies of failing to protect young people online and pushed rules that would hold Big Tech accountable for youth suicides and child sexual exploitation. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., was the latest...
By Mark Keierleber | February 1, 2024
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Federal data shows a drop in campus cops — for now
More than 1 in 10 schools with a regular police presence removed officers from their roles in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, new federal data on campus crime and safety suggest. Nearly 44% of public K-12 schools were staffed with school resource officers at least once a...
By Mark Keierleber | January 30, 2024
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Campus antisemitism, Islamophobia reports prompt ‘huge influx’ of federal civil rights complaints
Amid reports of heightened antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools and colleges since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a senior Education Department official said the agency has received a “huge, huge influx” of civil rights complaints that have led to a surge in federal investigations. Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel...
By Mark Keierleber | January 18, 2024
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ChatGPT is landing kids in the principal’s office, survey finds
Ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene last year, a heated debate has centered on its potential benefits and pitfalls for students. As educators worry students could use artificial intelligence tools to cheat, a new survey makes clear its impact on young people: They’re getting into trouble. Half of teachers say they know a student...
By Mark Keierleber | September 25, 2023