New York City principals have been ordered to pause purchases of any new education technology software as the nation\u2019s largest school system continues to wrestle with an AI policy amid a growing backlash.<\/p>\n
In an email to principals Monday, Chancellor Kamar Samuels instructed principals to hold off on purchases until later this summer when the department plans to share \u201cupdated guidance\u201d on AI and the use of screens in schools for the coming year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that we must prepare our children to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by new technology. We also recognize the need to consistently provide a safe, developmentally appropriate system with robust transparency and oversight,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
The move is the latest example of the education department\u2019s struggle to come up with an approach to the disruptive technology. The department released draft guidance<\/a> on AI in March, which was criticized as inadequate. Officials then said they were reconsidering the policies.<\/p>\n Thousands of parents have called for a moratorium<\/a> on the use of artificial intelligence in schools, citing concerns about the cognitive impact for kids, privacy and harm to the environment.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, schools throughout the city have wildly different approaches to AI, with some educators resisting use of the technology while others seek to help students\u2019 develop AI literacy, seeing it as an inevitability.<\/p>\n In a speech in May, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten called for a ban on AI in elementary schools, and no chatbots for kids under 16. She also called for a screen ban in pre-K through second grade.<\/p>\n That represented a shift from the powerful union. Last year, the union opened an AI training center<\/a> in Lower Manhattan in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic.<\/p>\n The unease with AI comes amid growing pessimism about technology\u2019s impact on student learning and mental health. Social media and educational technology companies are facing lawsuits filed by parents and school districts over allegations of addictive algorithms<\/a> and data privacy<\/a> breaches. Some parents have been pressing for far fewer screens in schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n For many of those critics, the city\u2019s draft AI guidance released in March seemed out of step. The guidance outlined a \u201ctraffic light approach\u201d where educators are barred from using AI for deciding grades, promotions, discipline and counseling but could use it for some communications with families and lesson planning.<\/p>\n The playbook was vague about the most central questions about how students use AI in schools, saying educators should use \u201ccaution\u201d when determining whether students should use it for research and projects.<\/p>\n At the time, Kelly Clancy, founder of Parents for AI Caution in Educational Spaces, denounced the draft guidance, saying it would endanger children\u2019s brain development and learning.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are huge cognitive and developmental problems with offloading your thinking to AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n