WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New York Mayor Zohan Mamdani has banned the use of generative artificial intelligence for elementary and middle school students in the city's public schools.
As per the order, children from 2-K - school for two-year-olds - to eighth grade won't be allowed to use AI over the next school year.
High school students will get 'twice-yearly AI critical thinking modules.'
The proposed one-year moratorium on AI could affect 600,000 public school students in the city, according to the Mayor.
Mamdani also announced screen time restrictions for children while in school. This will be implemented on the basis of the students' grade level.
Students in grades 3 to 5 will get only up to 30 minutes of screen time while students in grades 6 to 8 will get an additional 15 minutes of screen time.
Mamdani said, 'Children need their teachers and human connection in order to learn and in order to grow. They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own.'
The 34-year-old Democrat, who became the mayor of New York in January this year, added: 'Just because technology is everywhere doesn't mean that it belongs everywhere. We will embrace new technology, but only when it serves our students. We want to ensure that we are actually providing tools to our students that we know to be beneficial as opposed to tools that we know to be profitable.'
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