Google's AI in Schools Causes Plummeting Grades — New York City Moves to Ban It for 600,000 Students

What You'll Learn from This Article

• How Google's AI "Gemini" came to be introduced into school education for 170 million people worldwide
• The reality of declining learning abilities in children, as reported by teachers and parents
• Why New York City decided to ban AI for 600,000 students

Google's AI Rapidly Expands into Schools

Google currently provides its AI chatbot "Gemini" to more than 170 million students and teachers around the world. Embedded in Chromebooks (laptops designed for schools) and school software, the system lets students type in questions and receive answers.

Adoption is accelerating in the United States. In Miami-Dade County, it was rolled out to more than 105,000 high school students in 2025, making it the largest deployment of its kind in any U.S. school district. In Utah, it is set to launch for 680,000 students and 28,000 teachers starting in the 2026–2027 school year. In short, AI is becoming an established daily learning tool for students.

Serious Concerns Reported by Teachers

However, voices of concern have been rising from those on the ground. A Wall Street Journal investigation reported the following changes:

• Students are using "AI Mode summaries" as their primary source of information
• Students' ability to think independently is declining
• Student opinions are becoming homogeneous, with diversity being lost
• Test scores have dropped significantly

For example, instead of researching and thinking on their own, students are falling into the habit of asking AI for everything. As a result, critical thinking skills are failing to develop.

Reading Comprehension at Its Lowest Level in 25 Years

The 2025 edition of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) conducted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed reading comprehension scores dropping to their lowest level in 25 years. The average across OECD member countries fell by 28 points, with the United States dropping 14 points.

Even more alarming is which abilities declined. Skills that are particularly vital in the AI era — evaluating information, connecting multiple sources, and thinking critically — have deteriorated most. Additionally, the rate of "hasty reading" nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025, reaching 9%. This refers to a reading style where students read quickly but do not accurately understand the content.

Science Scores 20 Points Lower for Students Who Use AI

PISA data revealed that students who use AI for school tasks such as summarizing texts, drafting, and research score approximately 20 percentage points lower in science compared to students who do not use AI. A 20-point drop represents a significant gap equivalent to roughly one year of learning. In other words, by relying on AI, students are advancing through grade levels without developing the abilities they should naturally be building.

A professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School pointed out: "Students are constantly placed in a situation where they must choose between the easy path (AI) and the hard path (doing it themselves)."

Google Itself Had Warned That AI Is "Dangerous for Children"

In fact, Google itself was aware of the risks. The research report The Ethics of Advanced AI Assistants, published by Google and involving more than 50 Google researchers, contained the following warnings:

• Anthropomorphized AI is particularly dangerous for children
• It may cause a decline in intellectual curiosity
• It can lead to a decrease in self-efficacy (the sense that one can do things on one's own)

Google visiting researcher Natalia Kosmyna stated, "We have learned nothing from social media," predicting that the same problems would emerge in a few years. Just as social media's impact on children became a problem only after the fact, the same pattern is repeating itself with AI.

New York City Decides to Ban AI for 600,000 Students

In response to these concerns, on September 2, 2026, New York City Mayor Mamdani announced a one-year suspension of generative AI use for approximately 600,000 students in public elementary and middle schools, lasting through the end of the 2026–2027 school year. The mayor stated: "The tech industry is trying to convince us that early-stage AI integration in education is necessary, but we do not believe that."

The specific restrictions are as follows. Elementary and middle school students will have AI programs blocked and removed from school systems. Students in grades 3–5 will have a 30-minute daily device usage limit, while middle school students will have a 45-minute limit. High school students may take up to two AI literacy courses per year and use AI for limited educational purposes only. Teachers are permitted to use AI for lesson planning and administrative purposes.

The mayor described the measure as "the most comprehensive of its kind in the country." While AI literacy education will be provided to high school students, the decision was made not to allow elementary and middle school students to use it.

Summary

• Google's AI "Gemini" has been introduced into school education for 170 million people worldwide and is spreading rapidly
• Teachers are reporting a steady stream of issues including declining independent thinking, falling grades, and homogenization of student opinions
• PISA surveys show reading comprehension has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years, and students who use AI score approximately 20 points lower in science
• Google's own research report warned that AI is "dangerous for children" and may cause "a decline in intellectual curiosity"
• New York City has decided to suspend AI use for 600,000 elementary and middle school students for one year

AI is a convenient tool, but for children's development, the ability to think, research, and make judgments independently is indispensable. Relying too heavily on AI before those abilities are developed could have irreversible consequences. Cautious implementation is called for in educational settings.

References

• Even as Google's AI Permeates School Education, Backlash Grows Among Parents and Teachers Concerned About Negative Effects on Children's Cognitive Function and Academic Performance (GIGAZINE)
• Mayor Mamdani Bans Generative AI from Classrooms for 600,000 Students. One-Year Suspension Announced for NYC Elementary and Middle Schools in the Age of AI (Business Insider Japan)
• Google AI tools for students and educators: Back to School 2026 (Google Official Blog)
• Google and Utah State Board of Education partner on Gemini tools (Google Official Blog)

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This article is a cross-post from AI Friends.