New York lawmakers are preparing to strengthen AI safety rules after leading technology executives issued warnings about the risks posed by artificial intelligence, according to one of the architects of the state’s forthcoming legislation.
Democratic state senator Andrew Gounardes, sponsor of the RAISE Act, said concerns about biological weapons, nuclear weapons and other catastrophic harms were the same issues lawmakers had raised during debates over the legislation.
“I’m very rarely one to say, ‘I told you so’ or ‘We told you so,’ But this is exactly … the things we had warned about,” Mr Gounardes said.
The RAISE Act is due to come into force in January. It will require the largest AI companies to report safety incidents to New York and introduce penalties for breaches.
Mr Gounardes said the legislation had faced opposition from industry lobbyists, but argued that recent warnings from technology leaders had reinforced the case for government intervention.
“These are the exact same concerns that we were flagging: biological weapons, nuclear weapons, catastrophic harms,” he said. “Not only were we right, but some of the very same people that were telling us that we were wrong are now the ones saying that we need to be doing these things.”
President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over AI safety as a “HOAX”, while Congress is not expected to pass legislation on the issue in the near future. California governor Gavin Newsom has floated the possibility of a special legislative session, but New York’s legislature is not due to return to Albany until January.
New York considers tougher AI safeguards
Mr Gounardes said he had recently held more discussions with AI safety advocates, industry specialists and others. He is backing two further bills: one requiring independent safety audits, similar to a measure passed in Illinois, and another that would strengthen reporting requirements.
“They’re good bills, they’re important bills, they should pass as is. But I think we can go further,” he said.
Governor Kathy Hochul said she would examine additional measures to reduce AI safety risks. State senator Kristen Gonzalez, chair of the Internet and Technology Committee, said she intended to pursue a rights-based approach focused on potentially high-risk applications.
Ms Gonzalez’s proposals for next year include a data privacy measure and the New York AI Act, which would address alleged algorithmic bias in areas including employment, the courts and finance. The legislation would also provide whistleblower protections for employees of AI companies.
New York attorney general Letitia James has urged AI workers to report safety risks or breaches of existing state law through an anonymous tip line.
Ms Gonzalez also has a bill awaiting the governor’s decision that would regulate AI chatbots and impose liability on the companies that develop them.
“There are so many bills, and together, if we were to pass all of these that track out liability, we would be able to actually start fighting these companies, not just through slowing their development … but also mitigating more in court and having a foundation to claim damages,” she said.
