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Q&A

Dinowitz raises credit recovery and principal concerns about AI

New York City Council · Jun 24, 2026 · starts 0:44:16 · 1 min 51 sec

Dinowitz shares concerns from multiple principals who feel they are 'building the plane as they're flying it' on AI. He draws parallels to credit recovery programs where students sit at computers with no teacher interaction, warning AI could worsen this without proper guardrails.

Eric Dinowitz

Issues and I will tell you when it's almost 1600 schools escalating these issues to me I've had multiple principals tell me you know when it comes to this AI stuff they're they're frightened and they feel like there isn't enough guidance and they feel like they're building the plane it was an

Eric Dinowitz

as they're flying it that was an actual phrase multiple principals have said they feel like they're flying the plane I want to share a reality with you

Eric Dinowitz

that I experienced in high school about credit recovery.

Eric Dinowitz

You know, all of the principals are really incentivized to make sure kids graduate at any expense.

Eric Dinowitz

And so what they would often do is what's called credit recovery.

Eric Dinowitz

Does this sound familiar, credit recovery?

Eric Dinowitz

And they'll plop a kid in front of a computer.

Eric Dinowitz

I think in one of my schools it was called Atlas.

Eric Dinowitz

And they would sit for 45 minutes doing like online test stuff.

Eric Dinowitz

And that was bad enough.

Eric Dinowitz

No teacher interaction with 30 kids in a credit recovery class.

Eric Dinowitz

And now we didn't even get to the biases, the hallucinations of generative AI.

Eric Dinowitz

And we do not have the guardrails right now to ensure that our yearning to make sure kids get these credits doesn't conflict with what good education looks like.

Eric Dinowitz

And it's frightening to so many of the students and families and honestly, a lot of principals who just don't feel like they have the guidance yet.

Eric Dinowitz

Yet these tools, these approved vendors are still permeating their schools.

Eric Dinowitz

I'll ask two more questions and I'll turn it over to my co-chair, my neighbor from the south, Chair Diller.

Eric Dinowitz

For those of you that don't know, my district is like here and her district is right to the south of mine.

Eric Dinowitz

A little geography lesson for all of you.