New York City public schools lifted a ban on artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT after initially banning the technology.
(Bloomberg) — New York City public schools lifted a ban on artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT after initially banning the technology.
The city’s public school system, the largest in the US, banned ChatGPT on school networks and devices in January, citing concerns about safety and accuracy.
“New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said in an op-ed on the education website Chalkbeat.
Banks committed to providing educational staff the materials needed to implement AI and pledged to use the technology to help schools improve administrative tasks and communication.
“We’ll continue to gather information from experts in our schools and the field of AI to further assist all our schools in using AI tools effectively,” Banks wrote.
Banks justified his earlier decision to ban the technology, saying initial caution was necessary but he conceded the reaction was a “knee-jerk fear” that didn’t recognize the possibility of generative AI and its ability to support students and educators.
OpenAI announced on Thursday that it had launched a ChatGPT app for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and planned on releasing an app for Android devices in the future.
(Updates with comments from David Banks throughout)
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