Discussion

• @evanselinger Evan Selinger on x

  You know the algorithmic ed-tech nightmare scenario where predictive software deprives students of crucial opportunities like going to college by inferring how they would score if only they actually took a test? Well, it happened! https://www.wired.com/...

• @__mlt__ MLT on x

  “Concerns about flawed math models are growing as more companies and governments apply computers to traditionally human problems such as bail decisions, identifying criminal suspects, and deciding what is hate speech.” https://www.wired.com/...

• @kylebrussell Kyle Russell on x

  Algorithms extrapolating from recent history and similar cases won't account for hustling your ass off to memorize things for a few weeks to get credit before forgetting it all by the time you actually get to college https://twitter.com/...

• @tsimonite Tom Simonite on x

  When the pandemic shut down in-person exams, many shifted online. The org behind the International Baccalaureate Diploma tried instead to use data to predict what students would have got in happier 2020. Some students say their start in life is now ruined. https://www.wired.com/.…

• @myrthereuver Myrthe Reuver on x

  Insane! Students for the International Baccalaureate (international, high-level high school) obtained their final grade from a prediction by a black box ML model. WTF? Why? Who thought this was a good substitute for an actual exam!? https://www.wired.com/...

• @leavittalone John Leavitt on x

  And here we are with the increased automation of white collar jobs will lead to shittier, but cheaper, outcomes https://twitter.com/...

• @zittrain Jonathan Zittrain on x

  The strange thing about it is that the line is blurry between just assigning a final grade and calling that final grade a “prediction” of what a “real” final grade would have been. I guess the big differences are the bizarre attempt to use statistical modeling, and the secrecy. h…

• @lpconstance Constance L on x

  The sad story of poorly designed machine learning scripts ruining bright students lives #ibscandal #MachineLearning #bigdata #aifail #ai https://twitter.com/...

• @cfiesler @cfiesler on x

  TL;DR We can't give a test so we'll just have an algorithm predict what you would have scored. Who thought this was ok?! Why even bother with school at all anymore? Let's just tell kids when they enter kindergarten what college they're getting into. https://www.wired.com/...

• @noneuclideangrl @noneuclideangrl on x

  when I say final exams are bad, I don't mean “replace them with AI” https://twitter.com/...

• @amphithea Angie Svensen on x

  @harari_yuval @audreyt Please take a look at the #ibscandal and how an algorithm can ruin your life. It feels like a story from your book #21_lessons https://www.wired.com/...

• @warren_allen Warren Allen on x

  This story is pretty wild, and I'd think it's exactly why the automated decision making restrictions of GDPR (Art 22) exist. Do these providers have their (EU based) students sign the best drafted consent ever? What does the DPIA look like? Seems ripe for complaints. https://twit…

• @counternotions Kontra on x

  “The system used signals including a student's grades on assignments and grades from past grads at their school to predict what they would have scored had the pandemic not prevented in-person tests.” (Unreal.) https://twitter.com/...

• @caitlin__kelly Caitlin Kelly on x

  When the International Baccalaureate program canceled its exam because of Covid-19, it decided to use an algorithm to “predict” grades instead. It...has not gone well. By @tsimonite: https://www.wired.com/... https://twitter.com/...

• @worldwise001 Sarah on x

  As a former TA who sat with students for assignments and proctored and graded exams, let me tell you that students surprise you in the final exam all the time and I doubt that any ML algorithm could adequately predict a students' performance. Give them take home exams. https://tw…

• @natematias J. Nathan Matias on x

  Woah, students had college offers rescinded based on predicted IB scores when tests were canceled. “basing a student's grades on past trends at their school, potentially unrelated to the student's own school career, could be unfair” cc @AndrewDeanHo https://twitter.com/...

• @random_walker Arvind Narayanan on x

  I'm learning with growing horror about a high school diploma program that cancelled final exams and instead determined the fates of 170K students based on an outsourced black-box model that uses historical patterns as well as teacher-predicted grades. https://www.wired.com/... ht…