New York City bans generative AI for students, limits screen time

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday introduced a one-year ban on elementary and middle school students using generative artificial intelligence, or AI. The temporary ban came as one of several initiatives under the city’s larger AI policy unveiled during the Wednesday press conference. Mamdani characterized it as the most comprehensive AI policy in the nation, based on the simple principle that children need a human connection in order to learn and grow. The AI moratorium marked a commitment to getting the future right and a willingness to embrace new technology only when it serves students, he continued.

The city’s new AI policy barred generative AI use for all students through eighth grade, and prohibited the use of companion chatbots across all grades, according to a Wednesday release from Mamdani’s office. The finite ban will allow educators to monitor students and determine what works and what needs to change in students' AI use, according to Mamdani. The policy also included recommended screen time limits for students, recommending up to 30 minutes a day for third, fourth, and fifth grade students, and up to 45 minutes for all middle schoolers.

So will high schoolers use AI? Educators planned to start introducing AI in high school students' curriculum via twice-a-year AI critical thinking modules. The 45-minute sessions aimed to give students an understanding of what AI is and is not, and teach them about AI-related bias, risks, and ethical considerations. Educators also planned to have a limited number of high schoolers participate in pilot programs involving AI use. A coalition of students, educators, parents, and elected officials will meet and assess the impacts of the new policy and limited pilots, which will be published in a report for future recommendations.

What kind of pilots will the city run? About 5% of the city’s public high schoolers, or up to 50,000 students, will engage in five different limited pilot programs. Each program centered on a specific school subject or skill and aimed to help students competently use AI without learning to rely on it, according to Mamdani's office. Pilots will be carefully vetted and take place under direct teacher supervision. Teachers won’t be using the pilots to introduce students to chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude, Mamdani said.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report in WORLD Magazine about how Christian schools are approaching AI education.