New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani and Schools Superintendent Kamar Samuels are preparing to announce this week a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in the city's public elementary and middle schools.
This ban will take effect when New York public school students return to classes next week. Teachers will not be able to assign artificial intelligence to correct assignments. The use of individual screens will not be allowed until the third grade of primary school. These rules regarding the use of technology are part of a comprehensive new policy under which strict restrictions will be imposed on digital devices and artificial intelligence tools in the school system of major cities in the United States.
About 600,000 students in the city's schools - roughly two-thirds of public school students - will not be allowed to use AI until they enter high school, and even then, it will only be allowed in specific cases.
The Ministry of Education also recommends setting limits on screen time, such as limiting screen time for middle school students to no more than 45 minutes per day. Accompanying chatbots, which provide psychological and emotional support, will be banned at all educational levels.
City leaders described the new policy as one of the most restrictive on the use of technology in classrooms nationwide. However, the New York Times quoted some parents and organizations that called for a suspension of the use of artificial intelligence in schools for two years, saying they were disappointed by these directives and their limits.
“The technology industry wants us to believe that AI-powered early education is not only inevitable, but necessary,” Mamdani said in a statement. But we don't see it that way.” Samuels said the ministry would not “confuse innovation with increased use of technology,” adding: “We are putting in place controls to protect the important human connection, curiosity, and creativity that help children develop.”
Parent pressure
Parents across the country opposed the heavy use of digital devices and artificial intelligence in classrooms, stressing that this technology harmed students, restricted their learning, and encouraged cheating. The negative reaction forced some school districts, including those in Los Angeles, to impose new restrictions on the use of electronic devices in schools.
In New York City, parents from all backgrounds have become vocal about the rapid spread of artificial intelligence in schools and the educational applications used by students, including those similar to games. Some of them formed groups calling for stopping the use of artificial intelligence, in an effort that was supported by a majority of city council members a few months ago.
Council Education Committee Chairman Eric Dinowitz said, “This is undoubtedly a positive step,” but “I still have a lot of questions.” School district officials have spent the past months preparing a comprehensive guide to artificial intelligence in the classroom, taking into account the opinions of parents, elected officials and technology companies. The Ministry issued an initial set of guidelines last March, which did not restrict the use of digital devices or limit the use of artificial intelligence at some educational levels.
Exceptions
According to the summary of the guidelines, the new rules will not apply to “centrally approved educational programs” at all educational levels, such as e-books and programming applications. This decision will also not apply to some student tests, or tools designed to help students with disabilities, and students who are still learning English.
Teachers will not face the same restrictions and can use AI in their work, for purposes including preparing lesson plans, translating materials, and writing letters. But there are limits: AI can't be used to determine whether a student should graduate, for example, or how to counsel a student in crisis.
Officials presented the new rules with stakeholders on Tuesday. Many have asked about its application, and whether the administration will now remove educational applications that already include artificial intelligence technologies.
A member of the city's education supervisory committee, Nawid Hassan, confirmed that the Ministry of Education, whose budget amounts to about 40 billion dollars, has the authority to force technology companies to change their applications.
US Vice President J.D. Vance said that some artificial intelligence practices arouse in him a feeling of the presence of “a very dark and strange spiritual energy,” warning against the use of technology in very private areas, including marital relationships and decisions related to life and death.
According to Axios, Vance's statements came during an interview with podcast host Bryce Crawford, which discussed faith, family, and technology, and touched on the possibility of the "end times" approaching.
When Vance was asked if he believed the world was truly experiencing the “end times,” he said he was not sure, but noted that there were things that made him “not surprised if the Antichrist was walking among us.”
The conversation then turned to artificial intelligence, and Vance cited what he described as a “burial ceremony” held for a previous model of artificial intelligence after his retirement. It appears that he was referring to a symbolic ceremony organized by some users in 2025, after the “Claude 3 Sonnet” model was withdrawn.
Vance said that such behavior “makes me feel very uncomfortable,” adding, “There is some dark spiritual stuff going on out there.”
The vice president also expressed his discomfort with using artificial intelligence for marital advice, saying: “I think that's kind of diabolical.”
Vance's statements come at a time when the Trump administration is pushing to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence and reduce regulatory restrictions, in addition to encouraging the expansion of the data centers necessary to operate its systems.
However, Vance's concerns about some uses of the technology are not new. “Decisions about life and death should be made by humans, not machines,” he said earlier this year, during a speech to graduates of the US Air Force Academy.
During the interview, Vance, a Catholic, also addressed the controversy raised by likely artificial intelligence-generated photos of Trump, including one in which the president appeared in a Christ-like form.
He said that he knew that Trump “did not mean to offend anyone,” and that he did not mean to “mockery or imitate God.”
Trump had explained that the picture depicted him in the role of a “doctor,” referring, according to his interpretation, to the Red Cross, after he appeared wearing a white and red robe as if he was treating a sick man.
While the Trump administration sees artificial intelligence as a key area of technological and economic competition, Vance's statements reveal another side of the debate: not only what machines can do, but also the extent to which humans can allow them to interfere in the most private and sensitive aspects of their lives.
While the Wall Street Journal revealed that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is quietly working to extend the deployment of US forces in the Middle East to 2027, an indication of Washington’s readiness for the possibility of the war with Iran continuing for a long period, it also indicated that US President Donald Trump is secretly discussing with his senior aides the possibility of declaring an end to the war and relying more on economic pressure. To force Tehran to make concessions.
This comes at a time when the conflict has entered its seventh month, after Hegseth had pledged at its beginning that the military campaign would be a “quick and decisive strike” that would avoid American involvement in a long war, according to what the newspaper reported from sources familiar with the file.
19 warships... and 50 thousand soldiers
The Wall Street Journal explained that the comprehensive American approach in the region includes the deployment of 19 warships, air defense units, and fighter squadrons and paratroopers, while the US army maintains approximately 50,000 soldiers in the region, in part, to give President Donald Trump a “margin of flexibility” in determining his next steps.
Current missions include intercepting Iranian missiles, providing cover for commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and imposing a blockade on Iranian ports and coastal areas, with forces remaining ready to launch broader offensive attacks if Trump decides to escalate.
The newspaper quoted a US Navy official as saying that the fleet deployed in the waters of the Middle East includes two aircraft carriers and 13 guided missile destroyers. She pointed out that a number of these destroyers, including the USS Delbert D. Black and the USS Spruance, were sent to the region in the opening strikes of the war, and today they are sailing for continuous months to impose the blockade, instead of the usual monthly rest periods, and each one has about 300 personnel on board.
The Pentagon's strategy...and Trump's economic pressure on Iran
The Pentagon's approach to mobilizing military capabilities comes at a time when Trump has sent mixed signals about what might happen next.
In recent weeks, Trump has adopted an economic pressure campaign on Iran, hoping to force it to sit at the negotiating table. But Tehran has not shown any signs of retreat, while the United States and Iran continue to exchange fire, while each confirms its efforts to impose control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Away from the public... Trump discusses ending the war
American officials told the newspaper that, outside of the public, Trump is holding discussions with his senior aides about whether the war with Iran should be declared over, noting that the president said he supports this idea.
The officials added that Trump is also telling his aides that he believes that continued economic pressure will eventually force the Iranian regime to either dismantle its nuclear program or collapse.
“I like our situation much better now, with almost complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, and their economy almost completely collapsed,” Trump wrote on social media. They are only prolonging the inevitable. When will the Iranian people rise up and fight?
Fears of the repercussions of the Iran war on the midterm elections
Trump's aides advise that escalating the war with Iran beyond the recent exchange of strikes would harm Republicans' chances in the midterm elections scheduled for November.
The president said he does not take electoral ramifications into account when making his war decisions.
While Trump waits to see if his strategy will succeed, the US military maintains a presence of about 50,000 soldiers in the region, in part to give the president flexibility in determining his next steps.
Extending the deployment of US air defense units to 12 months
One of the informed sources told the newspaper that the army’s air defense units, which work under pressure to intercept Iranian missiles and drones, have seen their usual deployment period extended from 9 months to 12 months.
He added that some of the units that were transferred to the Middle East from their planned locations in Europe and the Pacific had already spent more than a year deployed in the region.
“The pace of operations for air defense units before this war was already among the highest in the joint forces,” said Tom Caracco, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He added that extending deployments risks exhausting forces, delaying maintenance work, and hindering modernization efforts in the long term.
Keeping aircraft carriers in the region in preparation for escalation of the war
Brian Clark, a former high-ranking US Navy official and now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said that Navy destroyers form the backbone of the blockade, but the plan to keep aircraft carriers in the region indicates that the Trump administration wants to maintain strong offensive capabilities in anticipation of an escalation in the fighting.
“They are setting it up to be sustainable over the long term, well into next year,” Clark said. But maintaining it at this level means abandoning the military presence in other areas. “So you are putting almost all the weight of your military capability on Iran over the next year.”
The Pentagon may maintain the forces of the 82nd Airborne Division until 2027
The Pentagon may also keep elements of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division in the Middle East until 2027, according to a letter sent by military leaders to the families of the division's members, and seen by the Wall Street Journal.
“We do not share this with you lightly, and we realize that a longer tour places a significant burden on every family, including ours,” the letter said.
Trump: The US military is ready to strike Iran “any time we want”
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the US military would remain ready to launch more strikes “anytime we want,” similar to what it did this week after Iran attempted to plant new mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We see everything they do,” Trump said. "They can't even go to the bathroom without us seeing them."
