In a city where technology consistently tests the boundaries of education and employment, New York City's educators and policymakers are grappling with a double-edged sword: artificial intelligence. Teachers, having faced a rise in student cheating through AI-assisted work, are still in limbo as they await the Department of Education to catch up with and to formulate a comprehensive policy for the use of AI tools in schools. According to Gothamist, Brooklyn history teacher Michael Dowd has become adept at spotting assignments that exhibit the hallmarks of AI, from their "tapestry" of vocabularies to their overreliance on em-dashes and semicolons. "There are all these formulaic patterns that happen," Dowd told Gothamist, "Kids are cheating."
While teachers like Dowd work to outsmart AI by reverting to in-class writing assignments or changing up assessment styles, New York City Council seems to have made a leap forward by passing two bills, introduced by Queens Council Member Nantasha Williams, aimed at evaluating the integration of AI across city agencies and guarding civil service employees against industry variations caused by such technology. According to a report by QNS.com, the first bill establishes an interagency task force to monitor and transparently address the effects of AI on city workers, and the second advocates for equal employment opportunity training for community board members.
Educators worry about the long-term impacts on students' cognitive development when such devices are used as shortcuts rather than tools for learning. "We have no idea what these tools will do to our students' brains over the long term and by embracing them, we put students' development at risk," says Mike Stivers, a science teacher at Millennium High School in Brooklyn, in a statement obtained by Gothamsit. In stark contrast to the teachers' cautious approach, city legislation is positioning itself to proactively adapt to technological transformations. The bills passed in December are Williams' effort to ensure urban systems do not outpace human oversight and preparedness as they evolve.
Students, such as Bronx Science senior Keir Horne, argue that AI isn't always used for dishonest means but also as an aid for organizing study materials. "It's really good for organizing information," Horne stated in an interview with Gothamist, indicating that AI has the potential to serve beneficially if managed correctly. Travis Malekpour, a history teacher at Cardozo High School in Queens, has seen his fair share of papers with suspiciously advanced vocabulary, prompting him to adopt strategies like community-based projects to mitigate the use of AI in cheating. In-class assignments and project-based learning seem to be stopgap measures until clearer guidelines are established—a need echoed by Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, who expressed AI's permanence in education and the ongoing developments toward establishing usage guidelines.
