Boston Mayor Michelle Wu discussed her administration’s Wu AI fluency approach for high school students in interviews with WBUR on Oct. 1 and again on the station’s Up Next program Oct. 2, framing artificial intelligence as both an innovation opportunity and a risk to jobs and public safety.
What WBUR Reported on Wu AI Fluency
According to WBUR’s Oct. 1 Morning Edition segment, Wu is advancing an AI fluency initiative aimed at helping high school seniors understand how to use artificial intelligence and recognize the technology’s pitfalls. WBUR described the mayor as walking a “tightrope” between embracing innovation and concern about AI’s potential shocks to employment and public safety. On Oct. 2, WBUR’s Up Next said Wu shared “complicated feelings” on AI and how those views shape city policy.
BPS AI Literacy Initiative Context
City materials place the classroom work inside the BPS AI Literacy Initiative launched in March 2026 by Wu, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, entrepreneur Paul English, and UMass Boston. A City of Boston announcement (updated Sept. 1, 2026) said 25 secondary educators completed a Summer Institute Aug. 24–28 as BPS AI Educator Ambassadors and will lead AI learning projects in their schools. English seeded the initiative with a $1 million gift, the city said.
In a March 27, 2026 partnership statement republished by Boston Public AI, organizers said the program would initially launch in 20 BPS high schools with plans for districtwide expansion, with students in participating schools beginning foundational curriculum in the 2026–27 school year. Wu was quoted there saying the public-private effort would position BPS as a leader in AI fluency so students “understand this world responsibly.”
Benchmarks, Partners, and Next Steps
The city’s September update said ambassadors will meet monthly through June, pilot classroom projects, and help build open-source lessons for the rest of the district. BPS is developing 7–12 AI literacy and fluency benchmarks, with a district showcase and hackathon planned for next June, according to boston.gov. Partners named in the city release include Day of AI and TWG Education Labs; an industry advisory board co-chaired by English and Ellen Rubin includes leaders from Boston-area technology firms.
Related Boston Report coverage of city operations and school logistics includes Boston school buses performance, the mayor’s Blue Hill Avenue bus lane town hall, and council debate over a proposed Boston data center ban.