Mamdani imposes one-year AI moratorium for most NYC students

NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced a one-year moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence in public elementary and middle schools, affecting about 600,000 students through eighth grade.

The policy, announced on Wednesday, will halt the current use of about 40 AI educational tools in New York City classrooms. It is the most restrictive AI policy introduced so far by a US public school district, although other districts, including Los Angeles, are reviewing their own policies.

High school students will still be allowed to use AI in some cases, while teachers will be permitted to use the technology for lesson planning, scheduling and other tasks, the city said in a statement.

“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own,” Mamdani told reporters at a press conference.

The decision comes as school districts across the US consider how to regulate the growing use of AI in classrooms.

Major AI developers Google, Anthropic and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

New York City public schools previously imposed a temporary ban on ChatGPT shortly after its rollout in 2022. The restriction was later lifted and replaced with a custom AI-powered teaching assistant, according to Microsoft, which is a part-owner of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.