New York parents and advocates descended on City Hall Thursday to plead with Mayor Mamdani to break with his schools chancellor and impose a two-year moratorium on artificial intelligence in the classroom.
The protesters — which also included some students, teachers and elected officials — delivered a petition with more than 2,200 signatures to the senior education advisor to First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, citing the potential risks of generative AI to student privacy, cognitive development, creativity and the environment.
“The mayor has mayoral control (of the public schools), so he can just say, ‘slow your horses’,” Kaliris Salas, a parent in East Harlem and member of the Coalition for an AI Moratorium, said at a rally before handing over the letter.
“He can put this moratorium and tell the chancellor, you got two years,” she added. “There’s no rush.”
Last month, Chancellor Kamar Samuels issued repeatedly delayed guidance on the use of AI in schools. But while the initial document offered practical advice for teachers and principals, it did not provide answers to some of the most common concerns around AI, such as how to prevent students from using AI to replace critical thinking or protect children from bias.
In the weeks since its release, the new rules have deeply divided parents and teachers. Some have welcomed the guidance, whether they’re excited about the benefits of AI in schools to improve teaching or prepare students for careers, or resigned to a notion that it’s already present in classrooms.
But Thursday’s protesters said schools may not be ready for the new technology.
“AI is not something far away in the future. It’s here right now,” said Syeda Sara, 14, a ninth grader at Motion Picture Technical High School in Woodside, Queens. “And while it can be useful, we’re seeing real problems that are being ignored.”
“Students are already using AI to generate answers instead of learning, instead of thinking critically. Some are relying on tools that do the thinking for them and that takes away from what education is supposed to be: Growth, effort and understanding,” she said.
It’s not clear where Mamdani stands on the AI guidance, though he has made no indication that he disagrees with his own appointed chancellor. Mamdani’s spokesperson declined to comment, referring the Daily News to a rep for the city’s public schools.
Nicole Brownstein, press secretary for the schools, said the initial AI guidance released last month was “just the beginning of our work” and said they’re continuing to collect feedback to inform a full AI playbook in the coming months.
“The reality is that many of our students and educators are already engaging with AI in their lives,” said Brownstein.
“In order to meet this moment, we know we must design educational spaces that never lose sight of original thinking or human-centered learning,” she added, “while advancing AI literacy safely and responsibly, ultimately preparing our students for the workplace of the future.”
While gathering input on the AI guidance, education officials are also seeking approval to open New York’s first AI-focused high school. The school, Next Generation Technology High School in Lower Manhattan, has also sparked controversy, with dozens of students and parents flooding a public hearing Tuesday night to weigh in both for and against the proposal.
Thursday’s protesters urged the mayor and chancellor to pump the breaks on AI in the classroom, citing broader backlash against technology in schools.
“We do not want to have another ‘I told you so’ moment’,” said Aixa Rodriguez, a public school teacher in Queens, “with another generation or two of children being impacted by profiteers who are coming into the education sphere.”