--- title: "Major Teachers Union Pleads With Elementary Schools to Stop Giving Young Kids AI" description: "The second-largest teacher's union in the United States is calling for a sweeping ban on AI in elementary classrooms." date: "2026-05-31" modified: "2026-05-31" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/teachers-union-schools-kids-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Education" - "Ethics" - "Future Society" --- # Major Teachers Union Pleads With Elementary Schools to Stop Giving Young Kids AI ![A focused young boy with short hair wearing a striped long-sleeve shirt is holding and looking intently at a tablet. The image is in black and white, with a vibrant purple background and an orange circle behind the boy.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Shutterstock* Angry parents aren't the only ones railing against the proliferation of AI in schools. The American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teacher's union in the United States, has now launched a major campaign calling on schools to keep AI and hardware like iPads out of elementary classrooms. In a buzzy speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday, AFT president Randi Weingarten [unveiled ten demands]() centered around reaffirming human-led instruction. One of the key requests: an immediate ban on AI systems in elementary school classrooms. The AFT's action points also included a screen ban for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade, as well as a prohibition on companion chatbots for students under 16, which schools [have]() [adopted]() at an [alarming rate](). "If we don't find a way to call this out from an education perspective, I fear that we will lose a generation of kids," Weingarten [told the *New York Times*]() in an interview. "The work of teaching and learning in the earliest grades should be done without AI." In her speech, Weingarten caveated that the AFT's campaign isn't some fanatical [Butlerian Jihad](). She is "not calling for a total ban on AI or a Chromebook bonfire," but for "getting the balance right to harness the benefits of technology while mitigating the harms." Whether the AFT is successful at achieving its demands could make a crucial difference in millions of kids' educational journey. As [tech giants push schools]() to adopt all kinds of AI systems, a growing body of research is showing that the risks far outweigh any benefits. As one [year-long study]() conducted by the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education found, AI in education comes with major risk of harm to children's cognitive and social development — a horrifying thought as an ever-growing number of kids substitute [real-life friends]() with AI chatbots. **More on AI in education:** *[Parents Explode in Fury at School's Plan to Constantly Film Their Children to Train AI]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()