Tech Giants Face Pressure to Adopt Stricter AI Privacy Rules After Microsoft Deal

Microsoft has agreed to implement strict AI privacy rules for students in its educational tools. The agreement, negotiated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is seen as a major step towards protecting student data from being used for training AI systems. Microsoft will not use student or educator data to train AI apart from narrow exceptions for protective purposes.

The AFT said the agreement could set an industry standard and has called on other tech giants, including Google and OpenAI, to follow suit. The deal includes measures such as prohibiting the use of AI companions designed to foster emotional attachment or dependency and requiring transparency about how tools work.

However, experts have warned that more needs to be done to ensure student safety online. Josh Golin, executive director of online safety nonprofit Fairplay, said the agreement sidesteps questions about whether AI products belong in classrooms at all.

The New York City and Los Angeles school districts have announced a one-year moratorium on student use of AI due to growing concerns over data privacy and screen time. Microsoft's Brad Smith said the company is committed to ensuring that AI is provided in a form that teachers, kids, and parents can trust.