When artificial intelligence enters the classroom, it also enters with an unprecedented capacity to collect, process, and analyze data about children and adolescents. That capacity can be a powerful tool for learning personalization. It can also be a violation of rights if it is not managed with the appropriate frameworks.

Why educational data is especially sensitive

Educational data is not like other data. It reveals thinking patterns, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, social behaviors, and, in many cases, indirect information about the family situation. An AI system that analyzes a child’s learning is building, without anyone having explicitly asked for it, a psychological profile of that child.

“An 8-year-old’s data is not a business asset. It is information about a person in training that must be protected with the highest ethical standards.” — Ethics Team, Mentu Labs

The five principles of protection

  1. Minimum necessary data: we only collect the data strictly necessary for the pedagogical functioning of the tool.
  2. Real informed consent: consent forms are written in understandable language for families without technical training.
  3. Single purpose: data collected for a pedagogical purpose is not used for any other purpose, including product improvement.
  4. Right to be forgotten: when a student leaves the project, all their data is irreversibly deleted within a maximum of 30 days.
  5. Independent audit: our data protection practices are reviewed annually by an external auditor.

The institutional framework of Mentu Labs

Data security and privacy

Our data protection framework is designed for high-vulnerability contexts where understanding of digital rights is limited. We do not assume that families understand what it means to give access to their children’s data to an AI system. Therefore, each new project includes a digital rights training session for families before any implementation.

Public commitment: Mentu Labs commits not to sell, transfer, or monetize in any form the data of students, teachers, or institutions participating in our projects. This commitment is unconditional.