AI Enhanced School Information System (INGSOC)

Hi Jason! This is definitely an ambitious (and as you mention, Orwellian) venture. I believe the cause is quite noble and crucial - tackling the teacher burnout problem is a real concern, and we may be required to think outside of the box. I agree with Marc in that your pitch video does not address the central feature of your venture as well as it could have, although I understand what you were doing with the “Can I use the washroom?” reference - it is indeed one of the many time-wasters in an educator’s day. Under Risks and Challenges, I would have made mention of privacy concerns if cameras were going to be a major part of your product. From an EVA standpoint, I’m not sure if I would invest (although I appreciate the cause behind the venture), due to the privacy concerns mentioned. Instead of a “surveillance” type of product, perhaps one where it helps to make students accountable for actions such as requesting to go to the washroom - what if there was a platform they log into (like a task management platform for education) where they can send teachers requests through the app or desktop site, and where teachers can program the number of students who can be gone from the classroom at a time. The ideas and rationale as to how teacher burnout comes about is well presented and researched. Nice job!

FEEDBACK: Jason, using AI to free up a teacher’s time from the mundane so they can focus more on teaching is a great idea. Kickstarter was also an effective way of presenting your content. The text and graphics on your Kickstarter present the pain points and solution very well, but I don’t think the elevator pitch captured the essence of your venture as well as it could have. I think you could have started at the 20 second point and then had more time to get us excited about AI and what it could do for education. The What Can AI do for Education would be a great script. I think you’ve done some great work that can be been reinforced by an elevator pitch that pulls some of the key points from your page.

Jason, your product identifies a key problem that does need to be addressed. Rather than reduce a teacher's workload, educational technology and the integration of technology in general, often has the opposite effect and burnout is an increasing problem. I like the idea of AI assistance for menial tasks like attendance or basic paperwork, but I think parents would balk at the idea of facial recognition in the classroom. I know they are experimenting with this in China where facial recognition is used to determine if students are paying attention and engaged, and while the initial reports have been positive, I think privacy concerns would present an obstacle in North America. I think the concept is a little too Orwellian to gain acceptance, but I think there are elements that could be useful. Personally, if I were to have an AI classroom assistant, I would prefer something along the lines of the ED-209, from the original Robocop movie. Aside from the product itself, some background information on the potential market or demand for such a product would have been helpful for a potential investor. I hate to sound cynical, but I would assume the main target for this product would be school districts or individual schools, but I do not know if reducing teacher workload is enough to encourage administrators to buy unless it can save them some money in the end. More and more, school districts are being run more like businesses, and unless this product makes sense in financial terms, I do not know if they would be willing to open up the purse strings. Your product is original and you identify a very real need, but a stronger business case would have been impactful. https://robocop.fandom.com/wiki/ED-209