Public Advocate Williams delivers opening statement on AI and screen time
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams thanks the chairs and acknowledges the administration's new AI and screen time policy as a response to widespread advocacy and research on negative effects of excessive screen time for young children.
Thank you so much, Speaker Menon.
Now it's our honor to call up for an opening statement our public advocate, who also cares deeply about this issue, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Thank you very much, Chair Krishnan and Chair Dynowitz, for this hearing and, of course, the speaker, all for your leadership and giving me the opportunity to speak today.
As mentioned, my name is Jumaane Williams, public advocate for the city of New York.
Following widespread support and countless advocacy by concerned educators and parent groups calling for an AI moratorium, I was heartened to see the administration acknowledge that they missed the mark with the initial preliminary guidance released in March.
The new AI and screen time policy are not only an acknowledgement of the moment we find ourselves in, another turning point in the evolution of technology, but also a natural conclusion to the decades of data and research that highlights the negative effects of extending screen time for our youngest kids.