The University of Houston had hired an artificial intelligence company, Dataminr, to monitor its students' social media activity and chat logs, using the AI tool known as "First Alert." This was part of a broader trend in US universities hiring private companies to gather open-source intelligence on student-led movements for Palestine. Dataminr's First Alert is designed to help law enforcement officials gather situational awareness, but it relies on an advanced algorithm that gathers massive amounts of data and makes decisions without human oversight.
The university used this system to identify potential incidents of concern, such as pro-Palestine chants or posts on social media, and forward the information directly to campus police. In one instance, a University of Houston communications official received an alert from First Alert based on chat logs scraped from a semi-private Telegram channel called "Ghosts of Palestine." The alert identified a potential incident because it mentioned that students were demanding an end to genocide.
This system was not used exclusively for student protests but also for other forms of expression, as university administrators sought to monitor the online activity of students who had posted screenshots of Instagram posts. At the University of Connecticut, one administrator watched a group of protesters sleep in their tents and wrote that they were "just beginning to wake up" with only a few police cars nearby.
Dataminr's services are used by newsrooms and corporate giants, as well as universities, to gather intelligence and respond to threats. The company has been implicated in various scandals, including the domestic surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and abortion rights protesters in 2023.
In April 2024, at least one University of Houston administrator received over 900 emails from First Alert in their inbox alone. This highlights how these systems can overwhelm administrators with information and lead them to act on it without fully understanding the context.
Critics argue that universities have a duty of care for students and the local community but instead use these systems as a means of chilling speech and creating an unsafe environment. "Universities have a duty of care for their students and the local community," Rory Mir, associate director of community organizing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. "Surveillance systems are a direct affront to that duty. It creates an unsafe environment, chills speech, and destroys trust between students, faculty, and the administration."
The university used this system to identify potential incidents of concern, such as pro-Palestine chants or posts on social media, and forward the information directly to campus police. In one instance, a University of Houston communications official received an alert from First Alert based on chat logs scraped from a semi-private Telegram channel called "Ghosts of Palestine." The alert identified a potential incident because it mentioned that students were demanding an end to genocide.
This system was not used exclusively for student protests but also for other forms of expression, as university administrators sought to monitor the online activity of students who had posted screenshots of Instagram posts. At the University of Connecticut, one administrator watched a group of protesters sleep in their tents and wrote that they were "just beginning to wake up" with only a few police cars nearby.
Dataminr's services are used by newsrooms and corporate giants, as well as universities, to gather intelligence and respond to threats. The company has been implicated in various scandals, including the domestic surveillance of Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and abortion rights protesters in 2023.
In April 2024, at least one University of Houston administrator received over 900 emails from First Alert in their inbox alone. This highlights how these systems can overwhelm administrators with information and lead them to act on it without fully understanding the context.
Critics argue that universities have a duty of care for students and the local community but instead use these systems as a means of chilling speech and creating an unsafe environment. "Universities have a duty of care for their students and the local community," Rory Mir, associate director of community organizing at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. "Surveillance systems are a direct affront to that duty. It creates an unsafe environment, chills speech, and destroys trust between students, faculty, and the administration."
. It's crazy to think that universities are using these private companies to monitor students' social media activity without any human oversight 
. I mean, what if there's a misinterpretation or a misunderstanding of the context? We don't want our young adults to be chilled into silence just because someone's pro-Palestine chants were flagged 
. And 900 emails in one person's inbox alone is crazy! What's even more concerning is that these systems are being used by other companies and newsrooms too 
. Can't we find a better way to keep our communities safe without sacrificing free speech? 
I'm really concerned about this trend in US universities using AI-powered surveillance systems like First Alert on their students... it's like they're creating a digital police state where administrators are more focused on monitoring student activity than actually supporting them. 
The fact that these systems can collect massive amounts of data and make decisions without human oversight is terrifying, it's like we're giving up control to machines. And what really gets me is how universities are using this system to monitor not just protests but also innocent students who just want to express themselves online... isn't that what freedom of speech is all about? 
I think we need to rethink the way our universities approach student safety and make sure it's not at the expense of our rights. We should be creating a safe space for students to learn, grow, and express themselves, not one where they're constantly being watched and judged. 
. I mean, what's next? Getting alerts when someone says something in a private chat? It feels like they're more interested in curbing dissent than supporting student voices 
. And have you seen those numbers? 900 emails from First Alert alone? That's just crazy! What does it even mean for an admin to get that many alerts from a system they don't fully understand? 
just another way universities are getting caught up in corporate profits 
dataminr's 'first alert' is basically a tool for universities to police their own people 
and chill free speech even more 
i mean what's next? having private companies monitor your mental health journals 
or something like that? 
It's like they think we're all just one big security risk waiting to happen. "Oh, someone tweeted something incendiary, must alert the authorities!" 
Meanwhile, actual threats to campus safety are ignored because of bureaucratic red tape. And now the admin is getting flooded with emails from this AI system? That's just great, more work for them to sift through... but I'm sure they'll just end up making some rash decision that will make things worse 
.
Can you imagine having to make decisions based on AI data without human oversight? It's a recipe for disaster 
. I mean, who needs free speech when you can have law enforcement officials watching your every move online? Not cool, not cool at all 
.
. They're basically using it to keep tabs on who's saying what, even if it's just a passionate post about Palestine 
.
. These AI systems might be useful for identifying potential security threats, but at what cost? Is it really worth chilling speech and creating an environment that's less than welcoming for everyone? 