Microsoft strikes deal with national teachers union to not use school data to train AI

Microsoft has entered into a significant agreement with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation's second-largest teachers union, to ensure that student and teacher data is not utilized to train the company's artificial intelligence models. This partnership comes amid growing concerns regarding data privacy and the lack of comprehensive federal regulations governing AI in educational settings. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft commits to transparency and strict data governance, aiming to build trust with educators who are increasingly wary of how their classroom information might be leveraged by tech giants. By establishing these guardrails, the AFT seeks to protect intellectual property and student privacy while still allowing schools to integrate Microsoft's AI tools into their curricula. This move highlights the proactive role unions are playing in shaping the ethical deployment of emerging technologies within the American school system.