CITYWIDE — EDUCATION ADVOCACY GROUPS have posted a petition addressed to Mayor Zohran Mamdani asking for a two-year moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence in city public schools. NYers for an AI Moratorium and Class Size Matters, along with Alliance for Quality Education, NYC Kids PAC and others, say the use of AI in city schools is expanding, “despite the lack of rigorous protections and the growing evidence that it can undermine student privacy, cognitive skills, creativity, critical thinking and the environment.”
The programs may put students at risk of surveillance through the collection of personal information and biometric data, including voice recordings, the groups said.
In December, then-Comptroller Brad Lander called on the NYC Department of Education to withdraw from consideration a $1.9 million contract for an AI-powered reading agent by EPS Learning (aka Amira Learning). According to Chalkbeat, 46,000 city kids have used Amira over the past two years. The company says that school districts across the country are seeing “incredible results.” The city, however, has not provided data regarding the system’s success or lack of success.
Amira Learning says, “ Amira listens, assesses, and tutors in real time using neuroscience and AI to help every student become a proficient reader.”
✰✰✰
