SAN RAMON, CA. – August 12, 2021 – Riiid, a leading AI for education company, and DXtera, a nonprofit,
member-based education consortium, announced today that they have formed a cross-sector alliance of
companies, non-profit organizations, and associations to launch an AI in Education (AIEd) benchmark
initiative. Announced at the ASU+GSV Summit, the world’s leading EdTech conference, the initiative
aims to increase public trust in AI in the education sector by establishing voluntary benchmarks and
standards to measure the quality and reliability of new AI for education technologies.
“There has been a strong need for more cross-sector work and more coalition-based collaborative work
to make the best use of technologies, talents, and resources we bring to the AIEd industry,” said Jim
Larimore, Riiid’s Chief Officer for Equity in Learning and who leads the AI alliance formation effort. “We
want to move from high-level benchmarks incorporated into learning tools to the ground level where
education stakeholders are actually being impacted. Ultimately, we hope to solve what is basically a
human rights matter: access to quality education for all.”
The alliance officially named the EdSAFE AI Alliance, will seek to encompass four critical S.A.F.E
categories – Safety (security, privacy), Accountability (defining stakeholder responsibilities), Fairness
(equity, ethics, non-bias), and Efficacy (qualified improved learning outcomes). More broadly, the newly
formed group will create and define industry standards.
“What has been lacking in the market is trust,” said Dale Allen, President, and Co-Founder of DXtera
Institute, the managing organization of the Alliance. “The most exciting part is that standards,
specifications, and processes can help students, teachers, and parents feel confident that AI-related
products and services are safe and built with equity in mind.”
In addition, the alliance will explore, among other things, how to create anonymized data sets and open
infrastructure to support the training and use of AI-enabled education tools; how to ensure those tools
are safe, equitable, fair, and unbiased; how to use random controlled trials and other rigorous forms of
evaluation to provide objective measures of AI-powered educational tools and systems.
Organizations involved in the initiative include Carnegie Learning, ETS, GSV Ventures, Digital Promise,
the German Alliance for Education, and Education Alliance Finland, among others. UNESCO has signed
on as mission supporters as well. A full list of participants and the alliance information can be found at
https://www.edsafeai.org/
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About Riiid
Riiid is a global leader in AI solutions for education, backed by more than $250 million (USD) in funding
and named in the 2021 CB Insights AI 100 list of the most innovative AI startups. Leveraging the power
of AI, the company is driving a paradigm shift in education with technology that personalizes instruction
for all students, with the aim of democratizing quality education anywhere in the world. The company
provides solutions for K-12 education, postsecondary education, and corporate training. As a leading
force in AI technology, Riiid has published research papers at top AI conferences including NeurIPS,
CSEDU, and LAK. The company has applied for more than 150 patents, 27 of which are registered. In
2020, Riiid established the company’s global arm based in Silicon Valley, California, to expand its
business across the U.S., South America, Middle East, and beyond. For more information, please visit
https://company.riiid.co/en/main
About DXtera Institute
The DXtera Institute is a non-profit consortium with active members around the world. Our consortium
includes some of the brightest minds in education and technology, who all work together to solve
critical higher education issues on a global scale. In close collaboration with our members, DXtera
provides solutions, technical services, and community support in the areas of next-generation education
systems, data management, and integration solutions. For more information please visit dxtera.org
Riiid Contact: Kiyoon Kay
August 12, 2021 kiyoon.kay@riiid.co
DXtera Contact: Patricia Diaz
patricia@dxtera.org
