Researchers Wanted Preschool Teachers to Wear Cameras to Train AI

University of Washington researchers planned to have preschool teachers wear cameras to record first-person footage of classroom interactions, aiming to use the data to train AI models. One parent described the program as opt-out rather than opt-in, though the university stated that classroom participation required parental permission for all children. The researchers assured parents that recordings would capture normal activities during morning hours for up to 150 minutes per visit, with no changes to children's routines.

University of Washington researchers planned to have preschool teachers wear cameras that would record everything they saw from a first-person perspective, including the children they were teaching, then use that footage to develop AI models. One parent who spoke to 404 Media understood the program as opt-out, rather than opt-in. The university said classroom participation was contingent upon receiving parental permission for all of the children. “With your permission, your child’s lead teacher may wear a small teacher-worn camera that captures the teacher's approximate first-person perspective, and/or we may place a fixed video camera in the classroom,” a document given to parents and later shared with 404 Media reads. “These videos simply capture the normal interactions between teachers and children during regular classroom activities. Recordings occur during morning program hours up to 150 minutes, up to 4 visits in one month. Your child will not be asked to do anything new or different. Their daily routine will stay exactly the same.”