Name: Neutrality Is a Myth: AI, Power, and the Future of Equity in Schools
Start: 2026-05-12T13:00:00-0700
End: 2026-05-12T14:00:00-0700

Neutrality Is a Myth: AI, Power, and the Future of Equity in Schools

Tuesday May 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT

Shiley Hall 101

Artificial intelligence is often described as objective, data-driven, and neutral. But AI systems are trained on historical data — and history is not neutral. In education, where discipline patterns, academic tracking, standardized testing, and intervention systems already reflect long-standing inequities, AI has the potential to scale those disparities under the guise of efficiency and objectivity.
This session examines how claims of neutrality can obscure embedded power dynamics in AI design and deployment. Participants will explore how algorithms encode assumptions about risk, merit, behavior, and readiness — and what it means to build equity-centered safeguards into emerging technologies. Rather than asking whether AI is biased, this session challenges leaders to interrogate whose values are being embedded into the systems shaping the future of schools.

Speakers

Yusuf Leary

Program Manager: Access & Engagement, Multnomah ESD

Yusuf is an educator, equity strategist, and organizational leader committed to challenging the myth of neutrality in education. As President of ORABSE and a facilitator of equity-centered professional learning, he works with district leaders and educators to examine how power, policy... Read More →

Tuesday May 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Shiley Hall 101 Shiley Hall, 5000 N Willamette Blvd, Portland, OR 97203, USA

Human-Centered & Ethical AI Literacy

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Yusuf Leary

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AIEmpoweredEDU2026

Yusuf Leary

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