{"id":200166,"date":"2026-04-17T00:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/200166\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T00:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T00:26:08","slug":"slow-your-horses-on-ai-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/200166\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Slow your horses’ on AI in the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York parents and advocates descended on City Hall Thursday to plead with Mayor Mamdani to break with his schools chancellor and impose a two-year moratorium on artificial intelligence in the classroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The protesters \u2014 which also included some students, teachers and elected officials \u2014 delivered a petition with more than 2,200 signatures<\/a> to the senior education advisor to First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, citing the potential risks of generative AI to student privacy, cognitive development, creativity and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor has mayoral control (of the public schools), so he can just say, \u2018slow your horses\u2019,\u201d Kaliris Salas, a parent in East Harlem and member of the Coalition for an AI Moratorium, said at a rally before handing over the letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can put this moratorium and tell the chancellor, you got two years,\u201d she added. \u201cThere\u2019s no rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NYCNYC parents and advocates rally against AI in schools on Thursday, April 16, 2026 in City Hall Park. (Cayla Bamberger\u00a0\/New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Last month, Chancellor Kamar Samuels issued repeatedly delayed guidance on the use of AI in schools<\/a>. But while the initial document offered practical advice for teachers and principals, it did not provide answers to some of the most common concerns around AI, such as how to prevent students from using AI to replace critical thinking or protect children from bias.<\/p>\n

In the weeks since its release, the new rules have deeply divided parents and teachers. Some have welcomed the guidance, whether they\u2019re excited about the benefits of AI in schools to improve teaching or prepare students for careers, or resigned to a notion that it\u2019s already present in classrooms.<\/p>\n

But Thursday\u2019s protesters said schools may not be ready for the new technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is not something far away in the future. It\u2019s here right now,\u201d said Syeda Sara, 14, a ninth grader at Motion Picture Technical High School in Woodside, Queens. \u201cAnd while it can be useful, we\u2019re seeing real problems that are being ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents are already using AI to generate answers instead of learning, instead of thinking critically. Some are relying on tools that do the thinking for them and that takes away from what education is supposed to be: Growth, effort and understanding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear where Mamdani stands on the AI guidance, though he has made no indication that he disagrees with his own appointed chancellor. Mamdani\u2019s spokesperson declined to comment, referring the Daily News to a rep for the city\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n

Nicole Brownstein, press secretary for the schools, said the initial AI guidance released last month was \u201cjust the beginning of our work\u201d and said they\u2019re continuing to collect feedback to inform a full AI playbook in the coming months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that many of our students and educators are already engaging with AI in their lives,\u201d said Brownstein.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to meet this moment, we know we must design educational spaces that never lose sight of original thinking or human-centered learning,\u201d she added, \u201cwhile advancing AI literacy safely and responsibly, ultimately preparing our students for the workplace of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

While gathering input on the AI guidance, education officials are also seeking approval to open New York\u2019s first AI-focused high school<\/a>. The school, Next Generation Technology High School in Lower Manhattan, has also sparked controversy, with dozens of students and parents flooding a public hearing Tuesday night to weigh in both for and against the proposal.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s protesters urged the mayor and chancellor to pump the breaks on AI in the classroom, citing broader backlash against technology in schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not want to have another \u2018I told you so\u2019 moment\u2019,\u201d said Aixa Rodriguez, a public school teacher in Queens, \u201cwith another generation or two of children being impacted by profiteers who are coming into the education sphere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York parents and advocates descended on City Hall Thursday to plead with Mayor Mamdani to break with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[67,85,267,9,24,264,12,56,63,65,64],"class_list":{"0":"post-200166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-education","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-new-york-county","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-nyc-headlines","18":"tag-nyc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}