Amazon Offers $100M in Cloud-Computing Credits for Education Projects Like 'AI Teaching Assistant'

This week AWS pledged up to $100 million in cloud-computing credits for educational organizations over the next five years, to help them build "technology-based learning experiences" on AWS, including:

• AI assistants
• coding curriculums - connectivity tools
• student learning platforms
• mobile apps
• chatbots

One example shared by Amazon: The nonprofit Code.org will use AWS's cloud credits to scale their AI teaching assistant that "has already helped teachers reduce the time they spend assessing students' coding projects by up to 50%." (Amazon's blog post notes that "Improved efficiency means teachers have more time to work on personalized lesson plans and coach students" — and that Code.org's assistant uses an AWS service for building AI tools...)

$100 million sounds pretty generous. But long-time Slashdot reader theodp notes the application for the cloud credits limits education organization to $100,000 in credits (though "your organization may be able to apply for a credits expansion" if needed). Do these figures suggest Amazon expects less than 1,000 organizations to apply for free cloud-computing over the next five years? ($100,000,000/$100,000 = 1,000)

theodp also spotted a GitHub comment from a Code.org software engineer comparing accuracy for its teaching assistant after a switch from GPT-4 Turbo to Claude. Both before and after the switch, the teaching assistant averaged an accuracy rate of 77%, the comment notes.

I guess that 77% accuracy rate is what Amazon is calling "improved efficiency" that "means teachers have more time to work on personalized lesson plans and coach students." (Maybe you're never to young to learn that AI makes mistakes?)

Translation:

[hdyoung]

We really need data to train our AI models, and we’ll let important projects use our computing capability so that we can observe their work, harvest their data, and be first in line to grab any good idea that we see.

I don’t have a problem with this in the slightest, but it’s NOT altruistic.

Re:Translation: [Where's the money, Lewbowski?]

[shanen]

Excellent FP and I concur strongly.

I even have a specific literacy development app in mind. I've actually written about the shiritori game even on Slashdot, but I sure wouldn't want it to contribute to the greater glorious profits of the Amazon corporate cancer. There's a gigantic market for schools teaching children to read, though my own interest is in improving my second language literacy. (Currently faking the imaginary app using something called LINE, which is a horrible app from a wannabe corporate ca

AI Teaching Assistant?

[MpVpRb]

Maybe in the future, once AI is developed to give accurate information.
All it does now is spew crap

Re:

[narcc]

We've had AI that can give accurate information reliably for ages. No one cares because it won't make porn for them.

Like the Hudson Bay Company...

[Big Hairy Gorilla]

...trading glass beads with the Natives for... lets say, more valuable things.

Zuboff called it "digital colonization" in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.

Dump your brain into this AI over here and we'll give you a coupon for 10% off your next purchase at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It's a good deal for one of the parties .

Re:

[shanen]

Another comment I wish I could mod up and I have a follow up question: Any books following up on her work? (She's passed away and won't be writing any more. (And yes, I checked her age to check. Nothing like Michael Hastings...)

Re:

[narcc]

Shoshana Zuboff is not dead.

Re:

[shanen]

Eh? But I read it on the Internet!

Seriously (though it sounds like a joke). I think it may have been her Wikipedia page at that time. My recollection is that I wanted to ask some specific question about part of the book. Possibly a typo?

But in that case I certainly hope she does another book on the topic. The situation certainly hasn't improved.

Re:

[narcc]

You might be interested in this [harvardmagazine.com]. The article title is a play on Alvin and Heidi Toffler's Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave. If you haven't read The Third Wave or Future Shock, I expect you'll find both well-worth your time.

Re: Like the Hudson Bay Company...

[Big Hairy Gorilla]

"Reset" by Ron Deibert of Citizen Lab, I found to be another well researched and insightful book ... that picks up from Zuboff's book. He describes the relationship between the companies harvesting your data and the state/law enforcement. Also about the horrifying environmental and human suffering cost to manufacturing our cellphones. The prescriptive chapters are not particularly encouraging. Quite depressing actually, but a good overview , imo.

Re:

[shanen]

Thanks for the recommendation. Limited availability locally (and apparently not translated into the local language), but maybe I can get a hold of a copy. Perhaps the only local copy?

Not a donation.

[Gravis Zero]

"Gifts" like these are not donations at all and it should be illegal to classify them as such. It's as much as a donation as a drug dealer giving someone their first hit for free.

It's pathetic that the law allows corporations to shamelessly self-promote under the guise of charity.