New York City Public Schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District have both hit pause on AI in their classrooms, with the stated goal of keeping students safe. But a pause does not stop kids from using AI, raising a harder question: What would it take to prove that a tool is safe, and that it works? In this episode, two guests weigh in from opposite ends of the debate.
Is a Pause Enough?
Yvette Renteria, chief program officer at Common Sense Media, says a pause is the right call for now, but that students ultimately need to learn how to use AI responsibly. Her team at Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute has spent months testing leading AI chatbots with simulated teen personas, and she says it has not yet found a tool that is valuable for kids and learning. But she points to her organization’s survey of teens, where more than half of those who had an AI tool blocked at school switched to using it on a personal device. She tells Ira Apfel why she compares bans to abstinence-only sex education, and what schools should do alongside a pause, starting with AI literacy.
What Counts as Proof?
Jaime Casap, former chief education evangelist at Google, wrote an opinion piece for EdSurge on New Mexico’s AI reading screener, which has drawn strong backlash. He argues that treating all AI as one thing puts a reading tool in the same bucket as a chatbot, and that the evidence should drive the decision. He explains why he worries most about students who grow up the way he did, and what he would tell both skeptical parents and edtech vendors.
Stories Mentioned in This Episode
Pause AI in Schools. But Not Before You Do This First. by Yvette Renteria
Will Kids Pay the Price for AI Panic? by Jaime Casap
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