Blue books won’t save our children from AI
The federal government must enact human-centric regulations for AI before it's too late to protect children and preserve human agency, and the Every Student Succeeds Act must be reauthorized to accou…
The federal government must enact human-centric regulations for AI before it's too late to protect children and preserve human agency, and the Every S
Read Full Story at The Hill →Why This Matters
Children today are being shaped by an invisible architecture of algorithms that prioritize engagement over development, often without meaningful oversight. Without human-centric AI regulations, we risk ceding control over the most formative years of young lives to systems designed for profit, not protection—leaving lasting consequences for mental health, critical thinking, and democratic participation.
Background Context
Since the 2015 passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), federal education policy has emphasized standardized metrics over holistic growth, leaving gaps in safeguards against digital harms. Meanwhile, the AI revolution has outpaced policymaking, with ed-tech tools now influencing everything from classroom algorithms to social media feeds without corresponding accountability frameworks.
What Happens Next
Congress faces a narrow window to reauthorize ESSA with explicit AI provisions before tech ecosystems harden into irreversible norms. Watch for bipartisan efforts to define "child-safe AI," but also for industry pushback on definitions that could limit data harvesting or adaptive learning systems. State-level experiments in AI governance may soon clash with federal inaction.
Bigger Picture
This debate reflects a global reckoning with AI’s societal costs, where education serves as both a pressure point and a proving ground for democratic governance. As algorithms increasingly mediate childhood, the fight for human agency isn’t just about policy—it’s about whether society retains the capacity to shape its own future.
