STOCKS | New York City Bans AI Use for Younger Students

New York City announced a broad one-year ban on artificial intelligence use for students from pre-K through eighth grade. According to Sina Finance, the policy will take effect next school year and affect about 600,000 students, or two-thirds of New York City public school students. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the measure on Wednesday local time and said the city will disable or shut off AI features in 38 previously approved apps that do not meet the new safety and oversight standards. He also said products that cannot turn off AI functions will not be purchased by the city. The policy also largely bans personal electronic devices in classrooms for pre-K through second grade. It recommends daily screen-time limits of no more than 30 minutes for third- through fifth-grade students and no more than 45 minutes for middle school students. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said the city’s policy closely matches a proposal the union put forward in May. Mamdani did not say exactly how the policy will be enforced, but said the administration wants to assess its effects and may extend or revise it later.