No AI until high school: NYC mayor Mamdani imposes 1 year ban on AI for schools through 8th grade

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1377962/no-ai-until-high-school-nyc-schools-announce-major-classroom-technology-overhaul

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels today announced a moratorium on student-facing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in schools, alongside a new screen time policy, a decision that will impact nearly 600,000 public school students, or two-thirds of the system’s total enrollment. The policy establishes a one-year moratorium, effective in the 2026-2027 school year, on student-facing generative AI for children in 2-K through 8th grade. It also introduces twice-yearly AI critical thinking modules for high schoolers, limited AI pilots for a small number of high school classrooms and age-appropriate screen time restrictions.

www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/09/mayor-mamdani-and-chancellor-samuels-put-students-first-with-nat

Why not at hs as well?

As problematic as AI is, these students are going to live in a world where it exists. I would much rather live around people who were taught how to use it well and as a tool to aid thinking and understanding rather than a total replacement to thinking. I’m sure it will take years of refining how we teach high schoolers to live around it to get good results, but we have to start somewhere.