Evaluating AI Use in Schools
How can we help educators, policymakers, funders, and companies evaluate the ethical dimensions and real-world impact of AI systems used in schools? A partnership between BU Wheelock and the Just Horizons Alliance seeks to address these questions and more through the AI Ethics Index for K–12 Education.
By combining Just Horizons’ technical and ethical analysis with BU Wheelock’s education expertise, the AI Ethics Index helps educators and others ensure that learning outcomes, student development, equity, and classroom implementation are central to how schools and districts evaluate AI systems. With the index, educators can:
- Understand AI’s impact on learning, teaching, development, and opportunity
- Conduct evaluations grounded in classroom realities and the needs of students and educators
- Apply evidence-based methods to assess whether AI tools are safe, effective, and beneficial for learning
The Just Horizons Alliance is an independent nonprofit applied research organization focused on the human impact of intelligent systems. Through collaborations across academia, civil society, and industry, Just Horizons works to advance more rigorous, human-centered approaches to the development and governance of AI.
Measuring Real World Impact in Education
The AI Ethics Index was launched in May 2026 during #BostonTechWeek. Watch the panel discussion with Dean Penny Bishop; Janet Kang (Questrom’15), executive director of Just Horizons; Just Horizons founder Wesley Wildman, professor of computing and data sciences, Duan Family Faculty Fellow, and professor of philosophy, theology, and ethics; and Sonia Koshy, chief research officer, Kapor Center. The discussion was moderated by Azer Bestavros, associate provost, Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences.