Alpha School students were monitored by offshore call center staff, not AI

An investigation by cognitive scientist Benjamin Riley found that at the $75,000-a-year Alpha School network, students were watched via laptop webcams by offshore call center workers rather than AI. Pupils were sorted into programs, had their emotions tracked and their computers locked for failing tests.

• Tuition at Alpha School is $75,000 a year
• Wrong test answers were reviewed over Zoom by call center staff in India
• Software tracked students' facial expressions and emotional states
• Failing a test locked the computer with a mushroom cloud screen