Is there a 'middle course' for implementing AI in NYC classrooms?

With less than six weeks until the start of the new school year, the city has yet to finalize its guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in the classroom.

The city’s Department of Education’s initial directive, which was released back in March, allows teachers to turn to AI for brainstorming, organizing and drafting communications, but not for assigning grades or discipline.

Students can also use it for exploration and creative projects with oversight from teachers.

The guidance has drawn pushback from some parents, teachers and City Council members, who say AI can harm cognitive and social development of students.

They have called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to pause the implementation of AI in public schools for at least two years.

Richard Buery, the CEO of Robin Hood, a city-based organization dedicated to fighting poverty, recently published an opinion piece in the New York Daily News, saying in part: “A moratorium doesn’t protect students; it removes the one place someone could have taught them, and it stops teachers from using AI to spend less time on paperwork and more time with students.”

He joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Tuesday to talk more about the use of AI in the city’s public schools.

Buery is also a former deputy mayor under the de Blasio administration.

Tap the video player above to watch the interview.