Student Odin Adeller on writing without AI and data privacy concerns

Timer be reset.

You start.

You should worry about you.

Go ahead and testify.

They'll figure it out.

Hello, City Council, and thank you for spending time out of your busy day to listen to what I'm here to say.

My name is Odin Adeller, and I'm a leader at the New York Civil Liberties Union's Teen Activist Project.

I'm 18 years old and have just graduated Urban Academy Laboratory High School this week.

I'm here to talk about my views on AI and tech products in schools.

At my high school, we did a lot of writing.

And before I went to Urban Academy, I didn't feel confident about my writing skills.

We were also not allowed to use AI to write our papers at all.

That was not a problem.

Without AI, I could do something else.

Ask my teachers for help.

And now I feel much more prepared for college.

In college, which I'll be starting this summer, I'm sure there'll be much to write, and it'll be writing that I'm sure I'll be expected to come up with ideas for myself.

Fortunately, I believe I can now put some of the many ideas I think about on the paper quite well without AI.

That also helped prepare for my high school's frequent class discussions where subject knowledge and critical thinking is essential.

Knowing how to write without AI also helps creatively.

I'm not sure I would have had as much fun or learned as much in my playwriting class where I wrote up a play that got acted out to my school, but I just used AI.

My classes felt much richer due to me and others avoiding using AI to replace thinking.

Unfortunately, I've heard that official guidance on artificial intelligence is being sent to schools,

which encourages students to use AI for research, exploration, and creative projects.

This is unwise, I believe.

I'm concerned that it will guide those in schools how to use software that is not useful in the classrooms.

In schools, I believe not just the final typing up of a paper, but more, including gathering ideas, should all be done without AI.

At school, students should be taught to think for themselves.

I'm sure it's possible people knew how to do so for a while before AI.

That is why I'm glad my high school is as restrictive of AI as it is for both the writing that students produce and the creation of the material used to properly teach students to be critical thinkers.

Support that kind of AI restrictive policy throughout the city.

I'm also concerned about the risk of student data privacy.

It's required by the government for minus or 10 schools.

Students should not be effectively forced to sign away digital rights to big tech companies to fulfill that requirement.

Instead of spending much taxpayer money on AI and data capturing products, which are not what students need, the city should focus resources on actual human education.

Thank you.

Thank you, Odin.