Repackaging authority: artificial intelligence, automated governance and education trade shows

ABSTRACT

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to be an important part of education governance. It is already being built into everything from business intelligence platforms to real-time online testing. In this paper, we aim to understand how AI becomes, and forms, a legitimate part of authority in contemporary education governance in what we call the automated education governance assemblage, that incorporates technology companies and AI-supported products used in education. We focus on EduTech Australia – an education technology trade show in Sydney – as a way to look at: (i) how the different aspects of automated governance are connected at EduTech, including the relations between different participants, companies and products; and (ii) how the automated governance assemblage works to legitimise and constitute EduTech as a policy space and site of new authorities in education governance.

KEYWORDS:

• Education governance
• automation
• assemblage
• artificial Intelligence
• education technology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This idea of automated governance was posited as part of Kevin Witzenberger's PhD work.

2. Some of this framing for automated governance comes from a presentation on building ethical AI, by the Gradient Institute.

3. This research is funded by the Australian Research Council.

4. Thanks to Greg Thompson for providing this way of thinking about assemblage as method.

5. For the scope of the AI ‘productization’ ambition see: https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/microsoft-ai-empowering-transformation/

6. At its most basic an API allows two software applications to communicate – it is a key part of the interoperability of data infrastructures.

7. For an insight into start-up culture, see: Martinez, A.G. (2016). Chaos monkeys: Inside the Silicon Valley money machine. London: Ebury Press.

8. This pilot is being undertaken in independent schools, which can make decisions about governance outside of the state authority guidelines. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/tough-new-rules-for-big-brother-face-reading-technology-in-schools-20190205-p50vpx.html And: https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/australian-schools-trial-facial-recognition-technology-looplearn/

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [FT180100280].

Notes on contributors

Kalervo N. Gulson

Kalervo N. Gulson is a Professor in the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia, and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. His research investigates whether new knowledge, methods and technologies from the life and computing sciences, including Artificial Intelligence, will substantively alter the processes and practices of education policy.

Kevin Witzenberger

Kevin Witzenberger is a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. He researches the automation of governance in education and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on education policy.