Res. No. 742

Resolution calling on the New York City Department of Education to develop curriculum on machine learning, and adapt their current curriculum and policies to account for the safe use of generative AI.

By Council Members Abreu, Joseph, Gutiérrez, Farías, Ossé, Krishnan, Hanif, De La Rosa, Riley, Williams, Ung, Bottcher, Rivera, Schulman, Louis, Menin, Nurse, Hudson, Brewer and Narcisse (by request of the Manhattan Borough President)

Whereas, Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of AI that can generate new content, including text, images and videos, through learning patterns from pre-existing data; and

Whereas, Examples of generative AI systems include image generators, large language models, code generation tools, or audio generation tools; and

Whereas, Since the public release of Open AI’s ChatGPT, a chatbot powered by an underlying large language model trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response in a humanlike conversational dialogue within seconds, it has become the fastest-growing consumer application in history, growing from one million users following its launch in November 2022 to over 100 million users in January 2023; and

Whereas, In addition to text outputs, generative AI can be used to analyze large data sets, identify trends and patterns, and make predictions; other applications include creating images, such as graphs and other data visualization, music, computer code; and

Whereas, Over the past year, with the release and growth of ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and similar generative AI systems, critics have issued warnings about the impact generative AI could have on society; and

Whereas, A May 30, 2023, open letter published by the Center for AI Safety and signed by more than 350 executives, researchers, and engineers working in AI, asserts “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war”; and

Whereas, A nationally representative survey of more than a thousand K-12 teachers and a thousand students published in February 2023 by the polling and research firm Impact Research for the Walton Family Foundation revealed that 51 percent of teachers have used ChatGPT, with 40 percent of teachers saying they use it weekly, and 10 percent reporting they use it almost daily; and

Whereas, By comparison, 33 percent of student respondents reported using ChatGPT for school, including 47 percent of those ages 12-14; and

Whereas, The survey also found that 59 percent of teachers reported that “ChatGPT will likely have legitimate educational uses that we cannot ignore,” while 24 percent reported that “ChatGPT will likely only be useful for students to cheat”; and

Whereas, Overall, the survey revealed that teachers and students agree that ChatGPT will be important to incorporate into schooling: 68 percent of students believe it can help them become better students and 75 percent of students reported that it can help them learn faster, while 73 percent of teachers agree that ChatGPT can help their students learn more; and

Whereas, Generative AI chatbots, which rely on patterns learned in its training rather than facts, are not reliable sources of information; and

Whereas, A May 3, 2023, JSTOR Daily post, highlighted that failing to properly engage with generative AI could produce a “generation of students and professionals who rely on a machine to think for them,” ultimately resulting in an “educational landscape where… students will have ChatGPT write their essays, and teachers will have ChatGPT grade them”; and

Whereas, In January 2023, citing “concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content,” the New York City (“NYC” or “City”) Department of Education (DOE) restricted access to ChatGPT on DOE networks and devices; and

Whereas, However, in a first-person piece published May 18, 2023, by Chalkbeat New York, DOE Chancellor Banks conceded that “the reality [is] that our students are participating in and will work in a world where understanding generative AI is crucial”; and

Whereas, Education must keep pace and embrace new technology in order to best prepare students for an ever-evolving world; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York City Department of Education to develop curriculum on machine learning, and adapt their current curriculum to account for the safe use of generative AI.

LS #13396

07/06/2023

CGR