A top university in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has rolled back a controversial feature of its AI-powered classroom tracking system following fierce public backlash.
Students at Nanjing University were recently notified by the university that it would begin using its “smart classroom” system – upgraded over the summer – to record full attendance rates over a one-week period, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.
Outrage flared when leaked screenshots purportedly revealed the AI-powered software in action – live classroom footage paired with real-time data tracking late arrivals, attendance figures and a “head-up rate” to map attentiveness. The images went viral, igniting intense debate over campus privacy rights, the ethical issues with algorithmic surveillance and the unchecked reach of artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring.