Statement from Richard R. Buery, Jr. CEO of Robin Hood in Response to AI Moratorium Announcement for K-8th Graders in NYC Public Schools

“I appreciate the thoughtfulness with which the City approached the question of generative AI in schools, but am disappointed by today’s announcement. While well-intentioned, a blanket one-year AI ban, without exceptions, on all uses through middle school is not the right call. But now that the City has decided, we need to make that year count.

Throughout NYC’s schools, several superintendents, principals, and teachers have been thoughtfully deploying carefully selected AI-powered tools in limited doses and under close supervision, in ways that are showing real promise. The ban announced today does not allow these thoughtful educators to continue utilizing these approaches and deprives us of the opportunity to learn from their experiences.

This isn’t about students using a chatbot to write papers, spending all day interacting with a screen, or replacing teachers with technology. It’s about parents receiving 15-minute lessons in the evening, translated into their home language and tailored to their child’s individual needs and interests, to support learning at home. It’s about teachers receiving real-time feedback on students’ reading comprehension responses so they have more information to coach students on how to improve. These are just two examples of what some students, parents and teachers are losing today.

To be sure, I share concerns about children and technology, the importance of productive struggle, and the need for robust safeguards. Yet, in an understandable effort to protect students, I fear we’re rejecting uses that could help them. I also fear that by not teaching all students about the appropriate use of AI in schools, we increase the likelihood that students will use it inappropriately at home, especially those whose caregivers lack experience with generative AI.

That said, we appreciate that NYC will allow limited use in high schools, and is committed to teaching students to use them responsibly. Employers are demanding an AI-skilled workforce, and our graduates are already struggling to land decent jobs. We would be doing our soon-to-be graduates a profound disservice by robbing them of the chance to learn those skills. I also appreciate the exceptions for English-language learners and students with disabilities.

Moving forward, the City should quickly bring educators, parents, students, and technologists together to develop evidence-based frameworks that enable the safe reintroduction of AI tools in earlier grades, so this moratorium doesn’t extend beyond the coming year. Those advisors must be objective and represent diverse perspectives. Other districts have shown what this could look like: a formal vetting process before any tool is approved, clear protections for student data and against bias, transparency for parents, and AI literacy training for teachers and students. New York City must do the same.”