I am a parent, and I have been the person Fox 5 calls when the story is kids and technology for fourteen years: teacher social-media rules in 2012, Facebook age limits in 2013, a teenager arrested over a tweet in 2014, and now AI in the classroom. The argument has not changed much. The tools have.
The AI gap in NYC schools (2026)
Live in studio the first week of school this year. Kids use AI at home every day and most schools have either banned it or ignored it. Neither is a policy. The questions I gave parents: which tools are allowed, which are banned and why, and who is accountable for the answer. Ask the principal, not the district.
The AI crisis in NYC schools: what parents need to know
Live in studio on the first week of school. My point: the schools are not behind on AI because of the technology, they are behind because nobody has decided who owns the decision. Parents can push for that decision faster than any policy will.
The AI gap: why your child's school is falling behind
The full in-studio segment. I walk through the gap between what kids already use at home and what schools allow, and give parents a simple set of questions to ask the principal this month.
When New York wrote its first social-media rules for teachers (2012–2013)
The NYC Department of Education issued its first guidelines for teachers on social media. With the Wall Street Journal's Lisa Fleisher, I argued the rules should protect kids without pretending teachers could opt out of the internet. Swap 'social media' for 'AI' and the segment could air tomorrow.
Social media guidelines for teachers
When New York City issued its first social-media rules for teachers, I argued the rules should protect kids without pretending teachers could opt out of the internet. The same argument applies to AI policy in schools today.
Social media guidelines for teachers, with the Wall Street Journal's Lisa Fleisher
A follow-up with WSJ education reporter Lisa Fleisher on the NYC Department of Education's teacher guidelines: what was sensible, what was unenforceable.
How young is too young? Facebook, cyberbullying and the age limit
With psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere and a 13-year-old named Aaron. My position then and now: the age limit matters less than whether a parent is in the room. The cyberbullying segment is the earliest one in this archive and the advice still holds: act the same night you find out.
How young is too young for Facebook?
With psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere and a 13-year-old named Aaron. My view then, and now with AI: the age limit matters less than whether a parent is in the room.
Online bullying on Facebook, with Dari Alexander
One of my earliest Fox 5 segments: how cyberbullying spreads on Facebook and what a parent can do the same night they find out.
There is no private mode: the teenager and the airline
With Tamron Hall on MSNBC after a 14-year-old sent a joke threat to American Airlines and ended up in police custody. And a Fox 5 segment on Whisper, the anonymous-secrets app, where I told viewers to assume nothing anonymous stays anonymous. Every AI chat your child has is a version of the same rule.
The 14-year-old who threatened American Airlines on Twitter
With Tamron Hall on MSNBC. A teenager sent a joke threat to an airline and ended up in police custody. The lesson for parents has not changed: there is no such thing as a private post.
Whisper: the anonymous secrets app
Whisper let people post secrets anonymously. I urged viewers to assume every 'anonymous' post would exist forever and could be tied back to them. That advice aged well.
Frequently asked questions
- What should parents ask their school about AI?
Three questions: which AI tools are allowed, which are banned and why, and who at the school is accountable for the answer. Chris Dessi's point on FOX 5 New York is that most schools have not decided who owns the decision, and parents can force that faster than district policy.
- Is AI in schools a crisis?
Dessi calls it a gap rather than a crisis: students already use AI at home and schools have not caught up. The risk is students learning to use AI badly, with no adult guidance, rather than AI itself.
- What is the advice for kids on social media and AI privacy?
Assume nothing online is private, temporary or anonymous. Dessi has given this advice on air since 2011, from the Anthony Weiner scandal to the Whisper app to the teenager arrested over an airline tweet, and applies it to AI chat tools today.
- How young is too young for social media?
His view, given on Good Day New York with Dr. Jeff Gardere in 2013: the age limit matters less than whether a parent is present and involved. The same applies to AI tools.
- Is Chris Dessi a parent?
Yes. He is based in Chappaqua, NY, and his daughter is a college student. He speaks about these topics as a parent as well as a technology commentator.
Want Chris to speak to your school or parent group?
He keynotes on AI for parents, educators and boards, and is available for in-studio segments in New York.
Media and speaking requests · Read ChatGPT for Profit, Volumes 1 and 2