Description: The Los Angeles Unified School District invested up to $6 million in developing the AI chatbot "Ed," meant to provide academic and mental health support for students. The chatbot allegedly failed to meet expectations, and the project collapsed when AllHere, the contracted start-up, faced financial difficulties. Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland was also affected. Founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was removed as CEO in June 2024 and later arrested on fraud charges.
Editor Notes: Reconstructing the reported timeline of events for this incident: (1) 2016: AllHere is founded by Joanna Smith-Griffin to help schools address chronic absenteeism through automated text messaging. (2) 2020: AllHere acquires technology developed by economist Peter Bergman, enabling "nudges" to parents via text messages. (3) 2021: AllHere expands its marketing, claiming to serve 9,100 schools across 36 states, and shifts focus toward "A.I.-powered intuitive chatbots." (4) June 20, 2023: AllHere signs a $6 million dollar contract with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to develop the Ed chatbot for student academic and mental health support. (5) Mid-April 2024: LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho promotes Ed at a major tech conference, describing it as a transformative A.I. platform. (6) June 14, 2024: AllHere announces furloughs for most employees, citing financial difficulties. (7) June 18, 2024: Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland is informed that AllHere can no longer provide its services. (8) July 2024: AllHere files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidating its assets. (9) November 19, 2024: Joanna Smith-Griffin is arrested and charged with multiple counts of fraud related to false claims made to investors and school districts.
Alleged: AllHere developed an AI system deployed by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) , AllHere と Alberto Carvalho, which harmed Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) , Taxpayers , Prince George's County students , Prince George’s County Public Schools , Prince George's County parents , Los Angeles students と Los Angeles parents.
関与が疑われるAIシステム: AllHere's Ed chatbot
インシデントのステータス
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
4.3. Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Malicious Actors & Misuse
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
Human
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Intentional
インシデントレポート
レポートタイムライン
Ed という名の AI プラットフォームは、ロサンゼルスの公立学校の 50 万人の生徒の「教育的な友人」となるはずだった。Ed は、入 力されたチャットで、生徒を学業やメンタルヘルスのリソースに誘導したり、その日に子供が授業に出席したかどうかを保護者に伝えたり、最新のテストの成績を提供したりしていた。Ed は、敵意、喜び、悲しみなどの感情を察知して反応することさえできる。
地区の教育長であるアルベルト・カルバリョ氏は、Ed について大胆な言葉で語った。同ソフトウェアを宣伝する …