Ed was introduced as an AI-driven “educational friend” for schoolchildren in Los Angeles, meant to assist with homework, suggest breaks, and even recommend colleges.
However, this ambitious $6 million project, which was designed like a talking sun, failed to meet expectations and is now tangled up in a federal criminal investigation involving L.A. Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
“I’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been more backlash,” commented Lila Byock, who leads a parent and teacher group focused on reforming technology use in local schools.
Just two months after its flashy launch in April 2024, L.A. Unified took the tool offline. Carvalho had promised that Ed would, in essence, “democratize” and “transform education.”
The school district had to remove Ed shortly thereafter, as the firm behind it filed for bankruptcy amid embezzlement accusations against its founder, who has since been charged by the FBI.
Despite this setback, Carvalho managed to weather the controversy and was unanimously reelected to the Los Angeles Board of Education last year.
However, individuals like Byock feel that the challenges with AI are quite significant.
“Ed was evidently a rushed product with no solid proof of effectiveness and a lack of clarity about the transaction,” she added.
In an unexpected development, Carvalho—previously celebrated in educational circles—was disclosed as being under federal investigation related to the ill-fated AI chatbot.
Federal investigators conducted searches at Carvalho’s office, his home in San Pedro, and the Miami residence of Debra Kerr, a former sales consultant for All Here, the now-defunct company that sold the Ed chatbot to LAUSD.
Kerr mentioned in court that he had not received a $630,000 fee for marketing the bot to the district.
LAUSD officials noted that the concept of Ed originated from Carvalho, intending to assist students in recovering from academic setbacks linked to the pandemic’s school closures.
Officials assert that the bidding process for this project was fair and that AllHere was a deserving winner. But some question why such a large school district opted for a newcomer rather than a more established provider.
The founder of AllHere, Joanna Smith Griffin, was arrested in 2024 on charges including securities fraud and identity theft, leading to the company’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
Despite AllHere’s collapse, Carvalho continues to enjoy backing from L.A. Unified’s elected board, responsible for hiring and overseeing the superintendent’s contract.
By the time AllHere declared bankruptcy, L.A. Unified had disbursed only about half of the $6 million contract, a minor amount in the district’s overall budget of $18.8 billion.
Carvalho also benefitted from notable test score improvements and graduation rates during his tenure.
Pedro Noguera, dean of the Rossier School of Education at USC, remarked, “There was a lot of excitement when they launched Ed, but that quickly dissipated with the company’s problems.” He added that the issues at the time were only a small mark on Carvalho’s record, as the district was among the few showing significant progress.
Byock believes that the challenges at L.A. Unified might not end with Ed. Her organization is pushing for a thorough review of all technology contracts approved under Carvalho’s leadership.
“I suspect Ed isn’t going to be the last we hear about this situation,” she said.
