With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
LAUSD Deploys ‘Ed,’ An AI Chatbot For Students And Parents
The Los Angeles Unified School District has launched a new artificial intelligence platform that gives parents and students a “personal assistant” in the form of a sun-shaped chatbot named “Ed.”
District officials say the new platform will be a one-stop shop for parents and students, where they can access information about attendance, grades, and other resources. It can also wake a student up, tell them what’s for lunch in the school cafeteria that day, or where their school buses are in real-time, said LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
He said the portal is pooling together data the district already has, and analyzing it to create personalized recommendations for students.
“There is no other school system at this point that has democratized data sharing and the use of data to the benefit of students like we are,” Carvalho said.
As of Wednesday, he said Ed will be available to about 100 schools in the district, and that it’ll be available districtwide over the coming weeks.
He said the app is currently for parents and students, but there is potential for the tool to be used by teachers if they want to in the future.
Andrea Cunningham, a parent of two children at Woodcrest Elementary School, tried out the tool and said it was useful in helping her understand her children’s assignments so she could assist them with their homework.
“What I like about it is their immediate response,” she said.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

-
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures.
-
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump.
-
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence.
-
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
-
While working for the county, the DA’s office alleges that 13 employees fraudulently filed for unemployment, claiming to earn less than $600 a week.
-
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to declare immigration enforcement actions a local emergency.