Use of AI for students has been banned in New York schools

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Use of AI for students banned in New York schools

In public schools in New York City, USA, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by primary and middle school students will be temporarily restricted. This ban will be in effect during the upcoming school year. Deutsche Welle reported this, citing a statement by the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

Officials say this is the largest and most comprehensive ban in the US. The one-year restriction will apply to students up to grade 8. This decision will cover nearly 600,000 students. During this period, officials will study how children use the technology.

Due to the new rule, about 40 educational AI programs currently used in classes will be suspended. All chat-bots designed for communication will be banned equally for all grades.

This ban will not be fully applied to high school students. For them, AI literacy classes will be held twice a year. In addition, pilot projects will be launched for some students to use certain AI platforms under teacher supervision.

Teachers, however, can continue to use AI for tasks such as lesson planning and scheduling.

The city mayor explained the decision by the importance of human interaction in the educational process.

"Children need teachers and human interaction to learn and grow. They need to develop skills together with their peers, build relationships with mentors, and solve difficult problems independently," he said.

He also added the following:

"Every day when our children come to school, we teach them to ask questions, to challenge assumptions, and to ask why. We must do the exact same thing when it comes to AI in schools."

In addition, along with the AI ban, New York is introducing additional restrictions on the use of technology. Under the new plan, screen time will be limited: a maximum of 30 minutes per day for grades 3-5, and 45 minutes for grades 6-8. Also, a city-wide audit will be conducted to identify and phase out non-essential educational tech tools.

According to the Associated Press, at least 37 US states have official guidelines for the use of AI in schools. However, a single standard for teaching AI literacy across the country has not yet been developed.