Machine Learning - The Markup

An illustration in green, red, blue and yellow tones that shows a desktop computer screen with an open window tab that resembles a Pokemon battle scene. At one end of the screen is a pixelated student and at the other is a wolf that represents a chatbot. The illustration includes a bubble text that reads "where can students get free food on campus?" alongside other bubbles of text with red exclamation points.

Machine Learning

California colleges spend millions on faulty AI systems: 'The chatbot is outdated’

Community colleges are spending millions on AI-powered chatbots that students say often give inaccurate answers. Many might see upgrades this year.

March 7, 2026 8:00 a.m. UTC

Illustration of a woman wearing an prison uniform on a laptop labeled "C.D.C.R."; she's surrounded by a pile of textbooks, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seal, a search input, a browser window with a lock on it, a crossed-out Wifi symbol and a silhouette of a person in a graduation uniform holding up a diploma

Machine Learning

Prison inmates can take college classes, but often with no internet and limited tech

Students regularly face dead ends, even with access to technology and research resources

August 7, 2025 8:00 a.m. UTC

A pixelated 8-bit style illustration in purple, pink and yellow tones that shows a student using a laptop with several icons — a medical bag, a graduation cap, an art color palette and brush, music notes, science testing tubes and a book — around her that represent different careers. Several tex bubbles can also be seen throughout the illustration.

Machine Learning

AI Chatbots Can Cushion the High School Counselor Shortage — But Are They Bad for Students?

The more students turn to chatbots, the fewer chances they have to develop real-life relationships that can lead to jobs and later success

March 4, 2025 8:33 a.m. UTC

Illustration of cascading website browsers for sites like Wikipedia, Google, Nasa, It Gets Better and The Trevor Project; the browser windows have an inverted halftone filter that obscures the site's content

Digital Book Banning

Schools Were Just Supposed To Block Porn. Instead They Sabotaged Homework and Censored Suicide Prevention Sites

The Trevor Project? Blocked. Planned Parenthood? Blocked. NASA? BLOCKED

April 13, 2024 6:00 a.m. UTC

Machine Learning

Teachers Are Using AI to Create New Worlds, Help Students with Homework, and Teach English

Around the world, these seven teachers are making AI work for them and their students

March 8, 2024 8:00 a.m. UTC

Photo illustration featuring a vignette of hands working at a laptop set against a background of essay text that is highlighted and flagged

Machine Learning

Plagiarism Detection Tools Offer a False Sense of Accuracy

The tools that likely brought down Harvard president Claudine Gay are improperly used on students all the time

January 10, 2024 8:00 a.m. UTC

Photo illustration of Maurice Newton and Mia Townsend

Machine Learning

We’re Not Living a “Predicted” Life: Student Perspectives on Wisconsin’s Dropout Algorithm

Wisconsin took down its dropout predictions after a Markup investigation. Here’s what two students we featured have to say

December 21, 2023 8:00 a.m. UTC

Photo of Eric Natividad, wearing a backpack, looking straight into the camera

Machine Learning

He Wanted Privacy. His College Gave Him None

A Markup examination of a typical college shows how students are subject to a vast and growing array of watchful tech, including homework trackers, test-taking software, and even license plate readers

November 30, 2023 8:00 a.m. UTC

Illustration depicting an aerial view of abstract yellow figures walking, some of whom are carrying backpacks

Machine Learning

How to Keep Your Personal Data a Little More Private While Pursuing Higher Education

Tips for students, gleaned from our investigation into data collection by colleges

November 30, 2023 8:00 a.m. UTC

Photograph of an Asian student with glasses sitting in a hammock. Behind her, there's a line of young people walking up the stairs on the UCLA campus.

Machine Learning

AI Detection Tools Falsely Accuse International Students of Cheating

Stanford study found AI detectors are biased against non-native English speakers

August 14, 2023 8:00 a.m. UTC