Nashville. TENNESSEE (WKRN) – Artificial intelligence is increasingly pervasive in our daily lives, and has been for quite some time. However, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is using AI a little differently, deploying technology that flags threats and cyberbullying.
“It’s just an extra level of protection,” explains Bark’s Katie McPherson. “We’ve known for months, even years, that kids in Oxford, Parkland, and Uvalde were posting their plans on YouTube and Instagram, but no one has come forward. We didn’t have it, so this technology is just doing it for us.”
McPherson describes the technology programs the company offers specifically for schools. Use AI technology to filter out inappropriate content shared between students.
“Immediate threats like, ‘We’re going to shoot up the school tomorrow,’ or ‘How would you feel if we shoot up the school?’ We’re receiving messages in real time like, ‘There’s a plan to shoot up the school,’ and we’re intervening as soon as possible.” Local law enforcement agencies work with their schools to ensure this happens. As much as possible,” she said.
This technology can recognize phrases and words, whether they are text or images. The review team will then seek to alert school officials.
This technology is now being implemented in all MNPS schools. The MNPS School Board plans to expand this technology and use it to notify students of serious risks such as threats, self-harm, explicit photos of minors, and cyberbullying.
“On social media, just like you can get 15,000 likes on a post, you can get 15,000 negative comments on a post, and that can really change someone’s thinking. That could change,” said Charles Chatman of the youth village.
There is growing concern about cyberbullying. Parents rank cyberbullying as their second-biggest concern for their children, according to a new poll from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
It’s something Chatman sees on a daily basis. But in recent years, he said he has noticed a change in how teens respond to their peers. Chatman said many of them now feel comfortable reporting when someone in their group is experiencing mental health difficulties, and are able to respond more quickly.
However, he said there are still signs to look out for, such as changes in behavior before and after a child uses a device.
“That’s where cyberbullying comes in. Comments, social media, and in most cases, the person bullying at school probably has the same social media platform as the victim, giving them more access to cyberbullying the victim. “It will be,” Chatman said.
She suggests parents take time out of their child’s day away from technology and instead find fun ways to bond as a family. Another way is to make your child feel comfortable letting you know if something is wrong.
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News 2 reached out to MNPS for more information about the technology. I received the following statement:
Bark is a content monitoring service for Microsoft 365 environments (Outlook, Onedrive, etc.) that filters out inappropriate content shared with students and identifies significant risks to student and school safety (threats, self-harm, etc.). acts, explicit photos of minors, etc.). A pilot began in select schools last school year to test the product, and this agreement will allow the service to be offered district-wide.
Shawn Brastead, MNPS Public Affairs Officer
