New York introduces one-year moratorium on AI use by students through 8th grade
New York authorities have announced a one-year moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence by students in public elementary and middle schools. The restriction will affect about 600,000 schoolchildren through eighth grade inclusive.
Restrictions for students
As Dawn reports, citing Reuters, high school students will be allowed to use AI only in certain cases. Reuters calls this decision the most restrictive AI policy among U.S. school districts. At the same time, other districts, including Los Angeles, are reviewing rules for using such technologies in education.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that schools will discontinue the current use of about 40 educational tools in classrooms. According to him, children need teachers and human contact for learning and development, as well as the opportunity to acquire skills alongside peers, build relationships with educators and solve complex tasks independently.
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Exceptions for educators
Teachers will be allowed to use AI for lesson planning and tasks such as scheduling. Google, Anthropic and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment on the city authorities' decision.
Previous ChatGPT ban
New York schools had already temporarily banned ChatGPT shortly after the service launched in 2022. The restriction was later lifted and replaced with a specialized AI-based learning assistant, Microsoft reported. Microsoft is a co-owner of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.
