But what does it mean to do so? What does it mean when ed-tech companies talk about an “identity-less-ness” learning? What does it mean to build “learning sciences” and “learning technologies” on top of this sort of epistemology? What does “personalization” possibly mean if there’s no “personally identifiable information” involved? What happens to bodies and identities — particularly bodies and identities of marginalized people — when they’re submitted to a new algorithmic regime that claims to be identity-less, that privileges identity-less-ness?
Identity, Power and Education’s Algorithms
Audrey Watters
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I feel your assumption that ed-tech algorithms can be personalised only if they are aware of user’s identity is misplaced. Because personalization happens not on the basis of user’s identity but on the basis of their performance/expertise. A white american, an asian and an african, all will be presented with same set of tutorials/exercises if they show same level of expertise and likewise people of different expertise will be treated differently if they have same/similar demographic profile.