For one year, New York City public schools will ban the use of artificial intelligence up to ninth grade. The decision, announced on September 2 by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is described as the strictest regulation imposed so far in the United States. High school students, meanwhile, will have access twice a year to learn how to use artificial intelligence. So the ban is not permanent, but is in effect for one school year, in order to draft a precise policy on artificial intelligence.
The goal is to teach students to use technology without becoming overly dependent on it or using it to copy. But there is no single definition of what constitutes AI skills, nor is there a consensus on how these skills should be taught. The decision by the New York City school system, the largest in the United States (600 students), comes as Los Angeles Public Schools is temporarily blocking access to AI platforms in the classroom for children of all ages: a move that is expected to be finalized later this year. Concerns about the use (and abuse) of AI are compounded by concerns about the excessive use of cell phones and social media during school hours. New York City has banned cell phones in classrooms since last year.
In Los Angeles, last June, it was decided to eliminate the use of digital screens in the classroom for younger children and block access to YouTube and other social networks during lessons. New York will also recommend restrictions, suggesting a maximum of half an hour in front of digital screens for students in grades three through five and 45 minutes for middle school students.
There are reactions opposing these measures, but there is a fairly broad consensus on the idea that the use of artificial intelligence should be limited for younger students. Parents are mainly in favor of imposing restrictions. They have previously complained that learning through screens and based on artificial intelligence is replacing learning through experience, social interactions and independent thinking. Teachers are divided, as there is the idea that interaction between teacher and student is essential, but there are also concerns that a general ban on artificial intelligence could hinder the use of useful educational tools, especially for students who benefit from individual assistance.
Proponents of using AI as an educational tool, on the other hand, argue that public schools risk falling behind reality. Students will encounter AI everywhere outside of school walls and later in college and at work, so banning it during their formative years could leave them unprepared.
Yet the New York City education system’s response is to teach them to use it when they’re ready and able to think critically, rather than giving the youngest children unlimited access. And then there are those who are calling for an even stricter ban: Concerned about access to children’s personal data and the reliance on artificial intelligence. They want the one-year moratorium to become a permanent ban.