Recently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a one-year moratorium on most generative AI tools for public school students until Class 8 for the 2026-27 academic year. Officials argued that young children require human connection and independent problem-solving skills instead of relying on algorithms. India’s policies on this issue are still evolving. So, should the use of Gen AI be banned among younger students in schools? Lavina Jaswani and Deepa Jacob discuss this question in a conversation moderated by Priscilla Jebaraj.
What kind of AI tools do you use and how do they benefit primary school children?Lavina Jaswani: We have been using a number of AI-enabled tools to explain concepts to children; to offer personalised learning; and to help teachers create resources, from stories and worksheets to different types of assessments and quizzes. There are different apps we use, such as Kahoot! and Quizlets, to offer a gamified, interactive, and sensorial learning experience that keeps children engaged, rather than the traditional rote learning method.
However, the teacher still has to ask herself: what is my learning objective? What does a child need to understand? Where can the technology add value and is it truly beneficial and essential for the child? Keeping such questions in mind, AI tools can be effectively used in the classroom.
