New York City schools halt student AI use for one year

NEW YORK: New York City has announced a one-year moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence by students in public elementary and middle schools, introducing one of the strictest school-level restrictions on AI in the United States.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday that the city’s public schools would suspend the current use of around 40 AI-based educational tools in classrooms.

The policy will affect approximately 600,000 public school students through eighth grade. High school students, however, will still be permitted to use AI in certain circumstances.

Teachers will not be covered by the student restrictions. According to the city, educators will be allowed to use AI for activities such as lesson preparation, scheduling and other administrative tasks.

Mamdani said the decision was aimed at ensuring that children continue to develop through direct interaction with teachers and classmates rather than becoming overly dependent on artificial intelligence.

He stressed the importance of human relationships and independent problem-solving in children’s education, arguing that students need opportunities to work through difficult problems themselves and build relationships with educators and peers.

The decision makes New York City the largest US school district to introduce such a broad restriction on student AI use. Other major districts are also considering how artificial intelligence should be regulated in classrooms. Los Angeles, for example, has been reviewing its own AI policies.

Major technology companies involved in AI development, including Google, Anthropic and Microsoft, had not immediately commented on New York City’s announcement.

New York City schools have previously taken action over generative AI. Shortly after ChatGPT was launched in 2022, the school system temporarily blocked the chatbot over concerns about its impact on learning and academic work.

That restriction was subsequently removed as officials moved towards exploring controlled uses of AI in education. Microsoft has also said the city later adopted a customised AI-powered teaching assistant.