NEW YORK \u2014 A majority of the City Council thinks New York City public schools need to slow down the rollout of artificial intelligence in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine Council members \u2014 out of a total 51 \u2014 penned a letter Tuesday asking Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his schools chancellor, Kamar Samuels, to \u201cimmediately pause\u201d the use of generative AI in education, with far-reaching concerns about the preliminary guidance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe draft AI guidance posted by the NYC Department of Education is flawed and fails to address the primary concerns of parents and education researchers,\u201d the elected officials wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge you to hold off and pause the use of AI in our schools except for education on the multiple risks in employing the technology until rigorous guardrails can be developed with public and expert input, to prevent serious damage to NYC children and their future.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter was drafted by Councilwoman Alexa Aviles, a Brooklyn Democrat, and education advocates, who again rallied for a moratorium on AI in schools<\/a> outside City Hall with parents, teachers and the \u201cBroad City\u201d actress and comedian Ilana Glazer. It followed a similar protest in April organized by the same coalition.<\/p>\n \u201cAI is a shortcut,\u201d Aviles said at the rally. \u201cIt is shown to risk the educational abilities of our students more often than it is supporting them. It is littered with bias and inequities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs students and parents have to spend every day worried about immigration enforcement threatening them and their loved ones, no one needs to come to a classroom fearing data privacy concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n The rare bipartisan memo shows how anti-AI sentiment spans the political spectrum<\/a>. The signers range from members from the Democratic Socialists of America, including Aviles and Shahana Hanif, a Brooklyn Democrat, to conservative Democrats and a Republican, Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Queens.<\/p>\n The backlash against AI \u2014 and screens more generally<\/a> \u2014 hit a breaking point in March when the school system released the draft guidance, encouraging teachers to explore using the technology in lesson plans and school communications, but prohibiting its use for grading or discipline.<\/p>\n The final guidance was scheduled to be released this month, though that timeline has been called into question after Samuels admitted in a recent speech that he \u201cmissed the mark\u201d with the rollout<\/a>, the education news source Chalkbeat reported. The chancellor had also proposed opening the city\u2019s first AI-focused high school, but paused those plans amid public outcry<\/a>.<\/p>\n In their letter, Council members said the draft guidance fell short of addressing student data privacy concerns and engaging parents and teachers. \u201cMost crucially,\u201d the politicians wrote, \u201cit offers no measures on how the documented risks of AI will prevent student learning, cognitive development, basic skills, creativity, critical thinking, mental health, and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n