Parents in Silicon Valley are scratching their heads over New York City’s recent ban on schoolchildren utilizing Artificial Intelligence, especially since they are quite fond of the technology.
Many parents in the Bay Area are perfectly fine with their kids engaging with AI from a young age—provided it’s done appropriately.
“You can’t make children live in the past. Let them experience the present—or even better, the future,” said tech founder Qinghua Zhao. “Hindering their progress towards the future is definitely not a positive move.”
Zhao’s 11-year-old son, Lucas Zhang, has already started using Claude Code, which he’s programmed to help reserve library books from his school reading list.
Despite preferring physical books, he configured the AI to avoid selecting eBooks and included a tracking column to prevent duplicate requests.
“The beautiful thing about children is their lack of fear. They don’t differentiate between what’s easy and what’s tough,” Zhao noted.
She believes that the logical principles Lucas is picking up through AI will be more essential than learning coding itself over time.
New York City’s restriction bans kids from preschool through eighth grade from using any kind of generative AI, while high school students can only use it under limited supervision.
This stands in stark contrast to the Alpha School in Palo Alto. This $75,000-a-year institution schedules just two hours a day for students to directly interact with AI, while the rest of the day is filled with workshops on leadership, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.
“I think there’s never been a more thrilling time for a 5-year-old than right now,” said school co-founder MacKenzie Price earlier this year.
One parent interested in enrolling at Alpha School remarked, “I view the AI component as secondary. The real value lies in giving driven young individuals more time to explore various interests before they have to narrow their focus for education or careers.”
However, some parents remain skeptical and prefer a more traditional educational route, concerned that AI chatbots could make learning too simplistic.
“You can’t just prompt your way through many challenges in life,” expressed Leor Melamedov, a tech marketer with two sons in public school.
“I want my kids to experience the satisfaction that comes from grappling with complex issues, arriving at insights, and overcoming obstacles.”
There’s also the noticeable disparity between those who can afford private school and those who cannot.
Public schools in California are mandated to provide five hours of instruction each day for 180 days a year. By the 2022-23 year, the Palo Alto Unified School District spent approximately $37,800 per student—about half of what Alpha charges.
If public schools decide against using AI, it could create a significant technology gap. Wealthier, tech-savvy families will teach their children about AI at home, while those with fewer resources may be left behind.
“One group learns how to leverage AI as a tutor, research partner, creative tool, and efficiency booster, while another group simply finds that AI is off-limits. Those are vastly different forms of preparation for the future,” observed Amy D. Love, a parent and founder of Discovering AI.
She recounted a moment when her child opted for AI to help solve extra math problems. “The work was done swiftly, but then he realized he hadn’t really learned anything. That was a crucial lesson for him: efficiency doesn’t equal learning,” Love explained.
“A child who has never learned to articulate an argument won’t be able to critically evaluate if AI has constructed a solid one,” she added.
Another concern among parents isn’t so much the AI itself.
One parent pointed out how essential friendships made at school are, just as much as the promise of accelerated learning. They had considered transferring their daughter to a self-directed learning program, but she wanted to finish middle school with her friends and realized adapting to the new environment alone wouldn’t suit her, even if her academic performance improved.
When implementing the New York ban, schools chancellor Kamar Samuels emphasized the importance of “human connection.”
No matter the educational setting, U.S. children are increasingly turning to AI. A survey from Common Sense Media, conducted with 1,204 American children aged 9 to 17 in March, found that 67% had engaged with AI chatbots, and among those who use AI for schoolwork daily, 28% indicated it’s difficult to start or finish homework without it.
But where do we draw the line? One Palo Alto mother reminisced about her older daughter’s love of reading, which dwindled once she got her hands on an iPhone.
“After that, she never picked up another book,” the mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, said with regret.
Love, whose daughter is now 13, is trying to find a middle ground regarding AI use in her household.
Her approach? Try, re-try, ask for assistance. If both parent and child are stuck, they can use AI together—afterward, her daughter is expected to tackle the next task independently.
“The goal is not merely to find the answer,” Love clarified. “The real objective is to guide the student back to a point where they can think for themselves.”
She has two main aims: to consider “what skills my child should develop to remain adaptable as the world evolves, and what genuinely interests my child.”
