{"id":20563,"date":"2023-08-07T18:07:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=20563"},"modified":"2023-08-07T18:07:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T09:07:54","slug":"20230807-20563","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20230807-20563\/","title":{"rendered":"University in Japan develops AI system to detect students dozing off in class, public wants it used in the National Diet\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An article<\/a> published by the NHK that reports on an AI system developed to detect when student doze off during classes has been causing waves among the Japanese public, as people question its ethicality and potential misuses. On the other hand, an overwhelming voice to proactively implement the system in the National Diet of Japan can be heard, as thousands of users echo the opinion that national representatives dozing off during work is a lot more of a pressing matter than students having a nap during their lessons.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preview of the AI system’s detection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The system in question was developed by professors of Osaka Kyoiku University in Japan, a national university that specializes in educating teachers. The system uses artificial intelligence and a thermal camera that can measure the body temperature of multiple people at once and performs analysis of the subjects\u2019 body postures. According to the developers of the system, it was created as a means to collect data about the frequency and timing of students dozing off or getting up from their seats during classes, with the goal of improving the content of lessons. In a real-life trial run, the system achieves over 90% accuracy in differentiating between the three actions of sitting down, standing up and resting one\u2019s upper body on a desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press conference, the leader of the project professor Fumio Nakaya explained that the system is meant to facilitate data collection which is to be used to train educators and improve the quality of lesson plans. He also mentioned that as the thermal camera cannot capture the subjects\u2019 faces, the privacy of students is not in jeopardy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/koike_youji\/status\/1687518553778577408?s=20\n<\/div>
Post translation: <\/strong>I cannot for the life of me think of this as the right direction to go. Classrooms are becoming more and more deprived of breathing space. I think that if I lived with the awareness that I\u2019m constantly being observed like this by machines, I would lose my mind.<\/font><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though the developers\u2019 intentions seem to be scientific more than anything, reactions from the Japanese public were understandably mixed, with many finding the idea of monitoring students in this way unsettling and feeling that things might be heading into a \u201cdystopian\u201d direction. Above all, most users seemed to agree on the sentiment that napping students should not be treated as a problem and should be left alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some found potential positive uses<\/a> of the AI system, such as to alert drowsy drivers and prevent traffic accidents, some also hypothesized <\/a>on potential misuses, such as the system eventually becoming a basis of evaluating students and harming their performance. The possibility of the system contributing to better lesson content was also deemed dubious by some, as students sleeping can be caused by exhaustion from working part-time or extracurricular activities and have nothing to do with the educator\u2019s skills or lesson plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u3088\u3057\u30b3\u30ec\u56fd\u4f1a\u306b\u5c0e\u5165\u3057\u3066\uff11\u56de\u5c45\u7720\u308a\u3059\u308b\u305f\u3073\u306b1\u4e07\u6e1b\u7d66\u3067\u884c\u3053\u3046 https:\/\/t.co\/qaMOyqtd9V<\/a><\/p>— \u30d3\u30fc\u30c8\u304d\u3088\u3057 (@kiyopon1231) August 6, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>