Teachers Union and Microsoft Just Made An AI Safety Deal. But Compliance Remains an Open Question.

On Wednesday, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced a partnership with Microsoft that prohibits the tech giant from tracking student usage of its AI tools and from using student and teacher data to train AI models. The agreement, applicable to any school district opting for similar terms, mandates that school districts must request deletion of AI data records from Microsoft's systems within 180 days of a request.

Microsoft has also promised not to utilize student and teacher data for training its AI, with exceptions limited to "narrow safety and security" situations, such as detecting, preventing, investigating or remedying harm to users or security threats to its AI products.

The contract also outlines "contractual remedies" for school districts, including the ability to pause or discontinue Microsoft's deployment of AI systems if the company breaches the agreement. However, the specifics on what qualifies as "remediation" within a "reasonable time" remain undefined. Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith confirmed that Microsoft has to publish transparency reports and meet tight deadlines for fixes, but was unable to provide concrete steps in case of non-compliance.

While Microsoft has committed to increased transparency, questions remain about the feasibility of enforcing these AI use policies in schools. Recent announcements by New York City and Los Angeles Unified School Districts suggest a growing trend of restrictions on AI use in educational settings. The AFT's contract with Microsoft emphasizes "When in doubt, protect the student" on its 31-page agreement, but the practical application of these policies remains uncertain.