Sec. Linda McMahon on AI: We Have to See What’s the Effectiveness, Are There Better Outcomes in Schools? If Not, Then This Should Be Pulled Out

RUSH EXCERPT:
McMAHON: "Well, I do think that what we have to make sure we are looking at is how much screen time students have in school. But what you know, what is that? What is that screen time? We want to make sure that there is effectiveness for students. And I‘ve had the privilege of going down to to Austin, Texas, to the alpha school and seeing how AI is really working in that in, in that particular school, the first couple of hours every day, students really have on headphones. They‘re in front of their computers, they‘re getting their subjects fed to them with all teachers monitoring what they‘re doing, doing, and the beauty of that is that a student almost has a one on one tutor. So the teacher can monitor to see if a child is a bit behind and repeat information for them. If a child is really excelling, then their programs get sped up a bit. So it‘s a great tool, you know, to have in this particular school. And I think that‘s what we have to look at with AI is who‘s going to get it? How long are students going to be exposed to it? What is the outcome? And you‘re right, there aren‘t a lot of metrics available now. And I think that‘s what we really have to look at is these edtech companies are introducing these new products to see what is the effectiveness. Are we seeing better outcomes in schools? And if we‘re not, then that then this should be pulled out. But I have seen it work so well in the introductions that I‘ve seen. So it‘s AI with guardrails. And as we introduce it, I think slowly in schools it can be a very effective tool used properly."