New York, Sept. 3 -- New York City will ban students from using generative AI in class from 2-K, a programme for two-year-olds, through Class 8 for the 2026-27 school year. Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced the one-year pause on Wednesday. It covers nearly 600,000 students, about two-thirds of the largest public school system in the United States. Schools reopen on 10 September.

Mamdani said tech firms want people to think AI in early education is both inevitable and necessary. "We do not see it that way." The city will spend the year studying what the tools do to learning.

He said he has not seen a study showing AI helps elementary or middle school students, except research paid for by companies that s...