(The Guardian) – As hundreds of schools implement an automated monitoring tool, educators say that students can find talking to a chatbot ‘more natural’ than confiding in a human

Phillips’s district has used Alongside, an automated student monitoring system, for three years. It’s an example of the growing category of tools that are marketed to K-12 schools for similar purposes, with at least nine companies getting funding deals since 2022.

Alongside says its tool is used by more than 200 schools around the US and argues that its platform offers better services than typical telehealth options because it has a social and emotional skill-building chat tool – where students talk about their life problems with a llama called Kiwi that tries to teach them to build up resilience – and its AI-generated content is monitored by clinicians. The system offers resource-tapped schools, especially in rural areas, access to critical mental health resources, company representatives say. (Read More)