Establishes the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Act which establishes an artificial intelligence literacy in the digital equity competitive grant program.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10556
IN ASSEMBLY
June 3, 2024
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Burgos) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing an arti-
ficial intelligence literacy in the digital equity competitive grant
program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Artificial Intelligence Literacy Act of 2024".
3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature, as well as the United
4 States congress, finds that:
5 (1) Artificial intelligence is transformative technology.
6 (2) Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly ubiquitous making
7 artificial intelligence literacy important.
8 (3) Technological leadership in artificial intelligence is an economic
9 and national security imperative.
10 (4) Effective artificial intelligence literacy initiatives encompass
11 not only technical training but also comprehensive education about the
12 potential benefits and risks.
13 (5) Informed developers and consumers of artificial intelligence tech-
14 nologies can help mitigate risks and biases often found in systems that
15 use artificial intelligence.
16 (6) Basic artificial intelligence literacy is critical to ensuring
17 Americans have the tools and knowledge needed to navigate the economy
18 and digital world.
19 (7) Successful artificial intelligence literacy initiatives will
20 prepare Americans of all ages and technical backgrounds to safely navi-
21 gate artificial intelligence tools and artificial intelligence-enabled
22 technologies.
23 (8) Communities most negatively impacted by artificial intelligence-
24 enabled technologies often have the least access to artificial intelli-
25 gence education.
26 (9) Artificial intelligence literacy initiatives must engage stake-
27 holders and communities in all stages and specific outreach efforts
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15758-02-4
A. 10556 2
1 should be made for communities disproportionately impacted by the
2 digital divide, including minority and rural communities.
3 (10) Jobs for the Future survey found 58% believe that learning oppor-
4 tunities around artificial intelligence should be offered to workers,
5 53% believe such opportunities should be available to learners, 54%
6 believe they would feel more prepared for the future impact of artifi-
7 cial intelligence if they were given learning tools for it.
8 (11) As of 2018, the U.S. artificial intelligence workforce stood at
9 about 14,000,000 workers or 9% of employment. Demand for artificial
10 intelligence occupations is projected to grow twice as fast as for all
11 occupations in the U.S.
12 (12) In 2021, black students made up only 7.5% of artificial intelli-
13 gence-related bachelor's degrees despite making up 14% of the popu-
14 lation. Women account for 60% of college graduates and only 40% of STEM
15 graduates and 25% of artificial intelligence graduates.
16 (13) The need for a strong workforce of artificial intelligence work-
17 ers, as well an artificial intelligence-literate population, requires
18 investment in artificial intelligence literacy education.
19 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 115 to read
20 as follows:
21 § 115. Artificial intelligence literacy in the digital equity compet-
22 itive grant program. 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the
23 following terms shall mean:
24 a. "Artificial intelligence literacy" means the skills associated with
25 the ability to comprehend the basic principles, concepts, and applica-
26 tions of artificial intelligence, as well as the implications, limita-
27 tions and ethical considerations associated with the use of artificial
28 intelligence.
29 b. "Community organization" means not-for-profit community organiza-
30 tions, other than a school, community college or institution of higher
31 education, which offer free educational programs to the general public.
32 c. "Program" means the artificial intelligence literacy in the digital
33 equity competitive grant program established under subdivision two of
34 this section.
35 2. Artificial intelligence literacy in the digital equity competitive
36 grant program. The commissioner shall establish an artificial intelli-
37 gence literacy in the digital equity competitive grant program which
38 shall provide grants to public elementary and secondary schools, commu-
39 nity colleges, institutions of higher education, and community organiza-
40 tions. The commissioner shall also establish criteria for the develop-
41 ment and submission of grant applications and proposals and for the
42 selection of recipients of grants from the program. Such program shall:
43 a. provide grants to public elementary and secondary schools to be
44 used for:
45 (i) providing teachers training and certification to support artifi-
46 cial intelligence literacy efforts in schools.
47 (ii) facilitating attendance of teachers at professional development
48 courses, workshops, and conferences related to artificial intelligence
49 education, including professional development related to artificial
50 intelligence course design and fee-based professional development.
51 (iii) for schools without resources for computer science education,
52 developing and designing best practices for computer science materials
53 needed for artificial intelligence education.
54 (iv) supporting partnerships with the private sector to facilitate
55 artificial intelligence education.
A. 10556 3
1 (v) equipping schools with labs to provide students hands-on artifi-
2 cial intelligence learning experiences.
3 (vi) developing virtual learning platforms that facilitate remote and
4 individualized artificial intelligence education opportunities.
5 b. provide grants to community colleges to be used for:
6 (i) developing and implementing an interdisciplinary literacy program
7 with respect to artificial intelligence for non-traditional learners,
8 including through partnerships with non-profit educational organiza-
9 tions.
10 (ii) developing labs to provide students hands-on artificial intelli-
11 gence learning experiences.
12 (iii) developing virtual learning platforms that facilitate remote and
13 individualized artificial intelligence education opportunities.
14 c. provide grants to institutions of higher education to be used for:
15 (i) developing labs to provide students hands-on artificial intelli-
16 gence learning experiences.
17 (ii) developing virtual learning platforms that facilitate remote and
18 individualized artificial intelligence education opportunities.
19 (iii) developing programming and pedagogical tools with respect to
20 artificial intelligence education and instruction for the benefit of
21 elementary and secondary school teachers and community educators.
22 d. provide grants to community organizations to be used for:
23 (i) providing training and certification with respect to artificial
24 intelligence education and instruction to employees of the community
25 organizations.
26 (ii) developing and implementing artificial intelligence learning
27 experiences and educational programming to the community served by the
28 community organizations.
29 e. require any entity which is awarded a grant under the program to
30 submit a report to the commissioner on or before July first of each year
31 for four years following the grant being awarded which shall include,
32 but not be limited to:
33 (i) the amount of the grant.
34 (ii) the use by the entity of the grant amounts.
35 (iii) the progress of the entity towards fulfilling the objectives for
36 which the grant was awarded.
37 3. Reports. On or before January first next succeeding the effective
38 date of this section and each January first thereafter, the commissioner
39 shall submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the
40 senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chairs of the senate and
41 assembly education committees and higher education committees which
42 shall include, but not be limited to, summarizing and analyzing the
43 reports submitted to the commissioner for that year and identifying any
44 specific use described by a report that the commissioner recommends for
45 expansion or modification to benefit greater populations.
46 § 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
47 law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
48 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
49 effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such
50 effective date.
