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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has unveiled a one-year ban on the use of student-facing generative AI across the city’s public schools through eighth grade, and restrictions on the use of the technology in high schools.

“The tech industry wants us to believe that A.I.-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way,” said Mamdani in a statement.

The moratorium, announced Wednesday, is a reportedly first-of-its kind policy that will be implemented for the largest school district in the country. It bars teachers from using AI for most tasks in the classroom, and bans elementary and middle school students from using the technology for school work. This represents roughly 600,000 students.

High school students can only use AI in limited instances, and the school district is launching a pilot program for specific AI tools for high school students to use. There will also be twice-yearly AI literacy courses that instruct students about the biases, limits, and ethical concerns related to artificial intelligence.

“Companion” chatbots, or ones that are made to develop relationships with the user, are banned across all grades under the new policy.

Educational AI Risks Becoming an Authoritarian Vehicle for Thought Control

The school district will spend the length of the moratorium evaluating........

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