Mamdani Issues AI Moratorium In NYC Schools

Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference to announce a one-year moratorium on student AI usage in NYC public schools. NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year moratorium on AI use for elementary and middle school students on Wednesday. The decision, which comes a week before New York City public schools begin the year, “includes all software that uses student-facing generative AI.” Elementary and middle school students—about 600,000 students in total—will receive screen-time restrictions that loosen over advancing grades, ranging from zero to 45 minutes per day. Companion chatbots will also be prohibited for all grade levels. The city is also introducing biannual AI critical thinking training for high schoolers that cover determining what is and is not AI, impacts on careers and future skills, and AI-related biases, among others, along with limited pilot programs for a few classes per high school that incorporate AI tools into students’ learning “under the direct supervision of a trained educator.” “Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and in order to grow. And they need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with their teachers, and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” Mayor Mamdani said in a Wednesday press conference. “The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable, but that it is necessary. We do not see it that way.” The new policies will not apply to cases such as assistive tools to help students with disabilities, those who are multilingual learners, and students in career programs like computer science. Other school districts have considered AI policies and guidance—such as screening AI tools prior to incorporation into the classroom—but, according to Tech Policy Press, few so far include enforceable, school system-wide rules. New York City’s policies permit teachers to use AI to plan lessons and operational tasks. United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew expressed support for the policy’s limits to screen time but told the Associated Press that it left “many questions unanswered,” including around the implementation of “AI safeguards” in software. “Let’s start at the source, rather than expect school communities or individual educators to figure out after the fact if what their school uses fits the new policy,” he said.