As a student of color, I have personally witnessed how Lockdown Browser and other AI-based exam-proctoring tools have caused injustice and inequality. These tools have become prevalent in educational institutions to counter cheating in online exams, but they have resulted in unintended outcomes that affect black students and students of color more than others. Lockdown Browser has a flaw as it uses facial recognition technology to monitor students during exams. This technology has proven to be discriminatory against people of color and black people, resulting in inaccurate facial recognition. Consequently, students may be penalized unfairly due to false positives or negatives, leading to allegations of cheating or technical difficulties that prevent them from completing their exams.
In addition, the implementation of Lockdown Browser may worsen the existing inequality in our education system, particularly in terms of access to technology. Students from economically disadvantaged or rural areas may not have the necessary resources, such as high-speed internet or compatible devices, to effectively use the software. This creates an unfair disadvantage for these students compared to their more affluent or privileged classmates. As an individual who is deeply committed to promoting fairness and equality in education, I strongly believe that it is imperative to voice opposition to the implementation of Lockdown Browser and other comparable AI-driven exam monitoring systems. It is essential that we identify alternative methods of preventing academic dishonesty that does not hinge upon prejudiced and unjust technology.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of student perspectives and experiences regarding Lockdown Browser, we undertook a survey to gather feedback on the use of this software in remote exams. The findings of the survey indicated that a significant proportion of students are uneasy with the use of facial recognition technology for exam proctoring and that a number of them have encountered technical issues that have adversely affected their exam results. To sum up, the utilization of Lockdown Browser and other exam proctoring tools based on artificial intelligence can have significant consequences on the fairness and equality of education. It is imperative that we collaborate as a society to discover alternative measures that do not depend on prejudiced technology and that put the welfare and achievements of every student first.