AI company pays NYC $4.3M in ‘artificial’ reviews on website

Metro

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by the Deirdre Bardolph And Susan Edelman

A company that provides artificial intelligence teaching tools to Brooklyn high schools claims “compliments” from Phantom NYC teachers on its website, The Post has learned.

Jason Green, co-CEO and co-founder of Learning Innovation Catalyst, or LINC, is a friend of Schools Chancellor David Banks.

Green visited Martha’s Vineyard with Banks last summer. Banks’ partner, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; And several children are on vacation, according to photos seen by an Education Department insider and The Post.

According to city records, LINC has collected $4.3 million in city funds for “professional development and curriculum” so far in 2018, including $2.3 million this school year.

Its AI tool Yourwai, which generates lesson plans for teachers, is now being tested in schools in Brooklyn.

Four names associated with Euroai’s commendations did not appear in city payroll records: “Emily Johnson,” “Tyler Anderson,” “Cameron Williamson” and “Ralph Edwards.”

Four other fake names — “Kevin Anderson,” “Christopher Miller,” “Michael Davis” and “Jessica Rodriguez” — were too common to determine their authenticity.

Miller’s quote had an odd twist, citing a Puerto Rican private school halfway through: “Teachers love it! – Palmas Academy Elementary School Coordinator – 40 teachers used this tool to 300 in less than a week Used more than once.

“I love you!!,” said NYC administrator Cameron Williams.

“Your Wi-Fi is very educational and I love the user-friendly tools,” the website quoted “NYC administrator Tyler Anderson.”

“This was the highlight of my year,” said NYC Administrator Ralph Edwards.

After an inquiry by The Post, Yourwai quickly scrubbed the name and references to NYC from the quotes.

“Testimonials on our website were anonymized for compliance purposes,” it said in a statement. “We have removed these aliases from our website to eliminate confusion.”

The company claimed the quotes came from actual teachers and administrators, but said it could not identify who made them — or even confirm that they were from NYC public schools. Worked for

“We cannot share the actual name of the user who shared certain testimonials, as the user’s name was not stored in our database,” the company said. “We also cannot verify the organization of the user who shared the testimonials.”

The City Conflicts of Interest Board prohibits city employees from allowing vendors to use their NYC titles in promotional materials without written permission from their agencies.

The company did not respond when asked if the DOE authorized the citation of school employees.

The DOE did not respond to an inquiry.

Janice Ross, superintendent of Brooklyn North High Schools, announced Euroai as an academic honor at the March 13 parent council meeting.

“Teachers spend hours creating lesson plans. They shouldn’t be doing that anymore,” he said.

Ross and Green also enjoy a close relationship, according to LinkedIn posts that chronicle their seven-year working relationship.

Ross and Green both boasted about the “launch” of Yourwai in posts this month.

Green noted that LINC was first introduced to Brooklyn North high schools in 2017.

Yourwai said it is offering the program for free to NYC schools as a pilot through the end of June.

“Our approach helps teachers use artificial intelligence, and technology more broadly, as a support and enhancement to their work, not as a replacement for that work,” the company said in a statement. which can only be qualified by human teachers,” the company said in a statement.

“Jason Green is not a personal friend of Chancellor Banks,” he added, but did not elaborate on the visit to Martha’s Vineyard.

Critics have warned of AI’s tendency to be used as a “crutch” and to reveal bias and lies. AI programs have been widely criticized for “diverse” content that is factually incorrect.

The Yourwai software was “integrated” with Black History 365, an ethnic studies curriculum, Greene wrote in LinkedIn posts.

“Bringing BH365 and LINC together is game-changing and ensures teachers have easy and convenient access to Black History curriculum,” added Ross.

Banks announced this week that he is “fighting like hell” to restore $170 million in early childhood education budget cuts, among other DOE funding cuts.