TRASHFUTURE *PREVIEW* Play-Doh's Symposium feat. Brian Merchant
Mar 27, 2026
Brian Merchant, journalist and author who explores technology's social impacts. He dissects an ed-tech firm selling digital hall passes turned anti-vaping surveillance. Conversations cover how such systems mimic military tracking, their technical and logical failures, student workarounds, and broader worries about normalizing workplace-style monitoring in schools.
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Hall Pass Software Behaves Like Military Surveillance
- Schools deploy AI hall-pass systems that model student relationships and surface "blocked pairs" to prevent vaping.
- Brian Merchant and Riley compare the software's behavior to military human-intel workflows and networked surveillance of teens in bathrooms.
SmartPass Pro Promises AI But Admits It Breaks
- The product offers a basic manual tier and a SmartPass Pro AI tier that auto-detects social overlaps and suggests blocked pairs.
- Riley quotes the FAQ admitting the AI ignores real-world room distances, forcing admins to manually judge proximity.
Surveillance Expands As Teaching Resources Shrink
- These systems add monitoring and detailed missed-time records while schools simultaneously cut teaching staff.
- Nate notes millions flow to vendors while classrooms lose teachers, creating incentives for surveillance over human support.