NYC Schools Chancellor Bans AI in Classrooms
Mamdani Bans AI in NYC Schools
New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks has issued a sweeping ban on AI tools in public schools, citing concerns over academic integrity and the potential for AI to undermine critical thinking. The ban, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the use of AI-powered writing assistants, chatbots, and other generative AI tools in classrooms and for assignments. Educators and tech experts are divided, with some praising the move as a necessary safeguard and others arguing it ignores AI's potential to enhance learning.
We cannot let machines do the thinking for our students.
- spking
- legitster
Even if you're pro-AI, there's a reason calculators are banned from math classes until a certain point. It seems like a no-brainer to have people learn on hammers before moving them to nailguns.
I can't help but think of this Chesterton Quote:
"It is, on the contrary, a thing analogous to writing one's own love-letters or blowing one's own nose. These things we want a man to do for himself, even if he does them badly. I am not here arguing the truth of any of these conceptions; I know that some moderns are asking to have their wives chosen by scientists, and they may soon be asking, for all I know, to have their noses blown by nurses."
- taybin
Good. Kids need to learn how to think before letting other stuff do it for them.
- MisterKent
Good. The more I use AI the more I feel like it will drag humanity into a local maxima that we'll never be able to escape from.
- summermusic
I can see the 2040 study already: “Schoolchildren who did not use AI in primary school show higher outcomes”
- amclennon
Makes sense. I had to learn how to add / subtract before I could use a calculator. Note: This policy doesn't seem to apply to high school
- pj_mukh
The dirty secret on NYC schools is that the upper-middle class tends to send their kids to private schools unless they can get their kids into some gifted/talented public schools. The real experimentation on what tools will and will not work is happening there under the watchful eye of wealthy hyper-involved (see: comfy jobs w/ adequate spare time) parents.
I don't know what level of digital tools is best for which types of kids, but the public school system would be prudent in adopting the learnings from the private school system and making sure the best education isn't just available to the rich. The current mayor is mad-effective at his job but does have a habit of doing the ol' wink-wink nod-nod to keep his base happy. This (along with a pointless Waymo ban) sounds like one of those actions.
- rayiner
Mamdani should investigate why NYC spends almost twice as much per student as the city of Zurich, Switzerland (which itself spends an enormous amount on education) but lags behind the U.S. average in reading and math test scores: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/01/29/naep-scores-sho...