New York City Public Schools is finalizing a policy on artificial intelligence.
Some parents fear the damage is already done, while others are worried that the process feels rushed, but almost everybody has concerns about a technology that expands exponentially every day.
“Will kids stop learning to think?”
There was a crowded room last week inside Public School 20 in Lower Manhattan as District 1 parents had a conversation that so many across the school system are having. It was about how their kids are expected to use AI tools that many parents don’t yet understand.
The city’s Department of Education announced its four-part plan back in March to develop a formal AI policy by June, which is now just weeks away. A spokesperson said the department received 6,000 stakeholder feedback submissions in the 45-day window that has since closed.
Some parents at the meeting didn’t report feeling informed or involved. Queens City Councilmember Phil Wong said he heard the same from his constituents.
“What we’re getting is a lot of fear and uncertainty, like will kids stop learning to think?” Wong said.
In a letter late last month, Wong told Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels, “We’re moving too fast without enough real input from parents and educators.”
The DOE’s four-part plan from March states, “Every phase includes collaboration with students, families, educators, leaders, communities, and partners.”
Some parents shocked by some AI tools already in use
Stories like Brooklyn public school parent Craig Garrett’s and his young daughter’s may help explain the rush the DOE in to implement AI guardrails.
“A year ago, I was just a regular dad,” Garrett said. “I learned that she was required to spend two hours a week speaking to an AI chatbot in her kindergarten class.”
Garrett described his shock at learning about the AI learning tool already in-use at his daughter’s school.
Had there been a policy at the time, he would have at least known the tool had system-wide approval.
Still, Garrett says, that wouldn’t put his mind at ease.
“Learning is a social process, especially in kindergarten, that connection the child has with their teacher,” Garrett said. “School leaders get to decide what’s allowed in schools and what’s not, and that’s as true for skateboards and smartphones as it is with AI.”
