New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, on Wednesday announced a one-year ban on the use of artificial intelligence by public school pupils through eighth grade, citing concerns over children’s education and mental health.
The restriction, which affects nearly 600,000 pupils during the 2026–2027 school year, will allow only high school students, typically aged 14 and above, to use AI under limited pilot programmes, while biannual AI literacy classes will also be introduced.
Companion chatbots designed specifically to provide emotional support will, however, be prohibited across all grades.
Mamdani said the decision was aimed at protecting children from excessive dependence on technology and ensuring that human interaction remained central to their education.
“The tech industry wants us to believe that AI-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We do not see it that way,” the mayor said in a statement.
According to him, children need direct interaction with teachers and their peers to develop academically and socially.
“Children need teachers and human connection in order to learn and grow,” he said.
“They need to develop skills alongside their peers, build relationships with educators and wrestle with tough problems on their own.”
Under the new policy, teachers will not be prohibited from using AI.
They will still be allowed to deploy the technology for lesson planning and administrative duties, separating its use by educators from pupils’ access to AI tools.
The policy is expected to attract attention across the United States because New York City operates the country’s largest public school system.
Rather than making the restriction permanent, the city government said it would use the 2026–2027 academic year to assess its impact.
A task force comprising students, teachers, parents, elected officials and industry experts will study the effects of the moratorium and publish its findings after the review.
The move comes amid growing debate in the United States over the place of AI in classrooms, with policymakers and educators grappling with how to balance technological innovation against concerns about learning, social development and children’s wellbeing.
For New York, the immediate priority is clear: limit pupils’ exposure to AI while giving education officials time to determine where, when and how the technology should be introduced into schools.
