Ashley Youssef proposes safeguards for AI in children's learning

Up next, I'll call Ashley Youssef.

Thank you, Speaker Menon and members of the council for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Ashley Youssef.

I am a native New Yorker, a mother of four living in Michigan, and a leader of TreeNAI.

I am developing Room 2050, an immersive arts and technology learning environment where students can explore creativity through hands-on experience with art, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

The vision is to put human imagination, curiosity, and judgment at the center of that experience.

As a mother, I want children to have opportunities to understand the technologies shaping their futures.

I want families to know who is responsible when those technologies enter a learning environment.

My position is that access and accountability must move together.

Children deserve opportunities to innovate, and they deserve meaningful protection.

For Room 2050, the standards I am proposing include educator supervision, age-appropriate tools, clear communication with parents, and strict limits on the collection and use of student information.

Any use of student data to train...

Commercial AI systems should require explicit, informed parental permission.

Students should learn that AI can make mistakes, reflect bias, and produce convincing information that is false.

They should practice questioning its answers and developing their own ideas, no matter what part of the city or the United States they are from, to help support emerging talent, which are human emerging talent.

I support a gradual rollout beginning with supervised experiences.

and expanding only after evaluating safety, educational value, and feedback from teachers and families and the council.

I ask the council to pursue clear standards that schools can understand and enforce, including transparency from technology providers and practical ways to report problems and stop using unsafe systems.

Educators and parents should have a meaningful voice in these decisions.

That's what Tareen A.

Has.

Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your testimony.

Up next, we will call on Naveed Hassan.

Naveed, if you're online, please unmute and begin.