Brainwave Tracking of Students in Class
| Brainwave Tracking of Students in Class | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | BrainCo’s Headbands Track Students Brain Activity in Real Time to Monitor Their Attention |
| Location | Global |
| Date | 2017 |
| Solove Harm | Surveillance, Aggregation |
| Information | Identifying, Behavioral, Computer Device |
| Threat Actors | BrainCo, Schools |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | Students |
| High Risk Groups | Students |
| Tangible Harms | |
Startup called BrainCo developed a technology called FocusEdu that allows schools track students attention levels in real time.
Description
BrainCo is a tech startup from the orbit of Harvard University and the MIT in the United States. BrainCo makes EEG headbands and the related software and promotes the use of these headbands in the classroom.
It measures students’ brainwaves via EEG, in real time. Surveillance An LED on the headband lights up and shows: blue means relaxed (therefore not attentive), yellow is attentive, red is highly focused. At the same time, attention data is radioed to the teacher’s computer. So even after the class has finished, the teacher can check who was attentive or otherwise. Of course the school management and the parents can take a peek too. Everything is recorded.
BrainCo does not only register the attention level of an individual, this level is also compared to find whether it rises and falls in sync with everyone else in the class. If not, the teacher will know: this person is thinking about something else. Aggregation
The technology is already being used in Chinese schools, and tested in Germany.
Breakdown
Threat: School recording students brain activity in real time with FocusEdu headband
At-Risk group: Students
Harm: Surveillance
Secondary Consequences: not known
Threat: BrainCo comparing brain activity of students in real time via a headband to find out who’s potentially thinking of something else
At-Risk group: Students
Harm: Aggregation
Secondary Consequences: not known
Laws and Regulations
Sources
https://bigbrotherawards.de/en/2020/education-brainco-and-leibniz-science-campus-tubingen
https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3005448/brainwave-tracking-start-china-schoolchildren-controversy-working