By Rayan J, and Arsene W
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I’m sure many of you who use your school chromebooks have seen this frustrating “Sorry, you’ve been BLOCKED” screen (shown below in Image A). When trying to access a site, sometimes there will be a message that pops up, not allowing you to get on it. Well, here is the system that actually blocks these pages, and what its criteria are.
Image A: Bark block screen
Bark for Schools AI is a Google extension used by various school districts across the U.S., including Wayland Public Schools that blocks certain sites on school issued Chromebooks, but could this software be incorrect at times?
The WMS Technology Department has personally blocked apps in Google Suite, such as Google Sites, Google Web Store (the app where they installed Bark For Schools from), Google Photos, and Google Chat, along with restricting Google Meets so that students are only capable of joining calls and meetings hosted by WMS staff.
Bark AI has certainly blocked most entertainment sites, NSFW sites, gambling sites, sites holding suspicious downloads and links, and other unallowed content students aren’t supposed to be on. But, as always, AI isn’t always right. Recently, students from every grade have found a way to bypass this system and still get on sites that are supposed to be blocked, or websites that the AI missed. Trying to get on to YouTube? There’s probably another site you can go on that Bark AI has not blocked yet. Students are able to go on these sites during class, or outside of class time, with much discretion. Of course, we have to take into consideration that the World Wide Web is filled to the brim with second and third party sites that can take you literally anywhere (and everywhere!), so you can never guarantee a clean web filter or a safe website.
The bigger problem is how Bark AI will block sites that students need for assignments, studying/practice, or project research. I personally have encountered this issue many times, which led me to using secondary sites holding a bit less information on the things I needed, making it harder to research. This can be frustrating because if you’re studying for something, or trying to complete an assignment that requires you to go on another website, sometimes Bark AI will block it.
Bark AI’s criteria for blocking a page is based on two things. One, is custom parental overrides. These include gaming, explicit websites, chatbots and tools, streaming devices, and other gambling, illegal content, etc. The second piece of criteria for the Bark AI is that people can block websites using the URL to the site. Also, Bark blocks any uncategorized or unidentified sites so students can’t bypass new filters to dangerous servers. But of course, there are tons of sites that are not blocked that should be. There are some websites that have gotten past the AI, allowing people to go on them freely.
This gives us the conclusion that Bark AI sure is effective enough, however it can be correct and often inconvenient at times.