For the reason that starting, New York Metropolis has been a spot the place change is cast and embraced. Our model is synonymous with innovation and international management, and our authorities has all the time been on the modern, making society higher each right here and for instance for the world. That can proceed to be the case if New York Metropolis performs a number one position within the AI revolution.
AI has monumental potential to remodel how New York and cities elsewhere look after residents, staff, and guests. The immense scale of the New York Metropolis’s operations — now we have over 6,000 miles of streets alone — presents nice alternatives for using AI to extend efficiencies, enhance data-driven decision-making, and goal areas of inequality. AI is also transformative in addressing our affordability disaster. On the identical time, the mayor have to be practical about AI’s dangers and the town’s accountability to maintain folks protected from AI-induced hurt.
Upon taking workplace, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani should guarantee New York Metropolis leads on AI. Fortuitously, the town has constructed a sturdy expertise infrastructure headed by a chief expertise officer, with robust tech management on the company degree and proficient public servants all through authorities. Constructing on that basis, the mayor ought to take these steps:
First, the mayor ought to absolutely deploy his CTO to direct all the town’s AI work and provides company heads the sources to assist these initiatives. The mayor ought to cost the crew to formulate citywide AI governance, suggest deploying new AI instruments, and analyze how AI can drive the affordability agenda. The CTO must also oversee all procurement of AI items and companies and negotiate favorable phrases with distributors on information privateness and cybersecurity.
Second, the mayor should make AI innovation and threat mitigation a prime precedence in finances negotiations with the Metropolis Council. Town’s finances represents our values greater than every other doc, and the AI future have to be mirrored in it. The Mayor will seemingly have a robust associate on this work with Council Member Julie Menin, the incoming speaker of the Metropolis Council, whose members undoubtedly will view AI coverage with import.
Third, Madani ought to create a activity power on AI and human rights. Lengthy a beacon for private liberty and equality, the town has the nation’s most strong human rights legal guidelines. The duty power will deal with how AI’s proliferation could degrade human and civil rights and suggest metropolis actions in response. If an AI instrument creates bias and discrimination, the duty power will expose it.
Lastly, the mayor should interact with the governor and different state and native leaders to formulate coherent AI coverage proposals. The president’s latest government order on AI took an aggressive posture towards states and localities with imprecise assertions of federal preemption, whereas Congress has but to significantly handle AI coverage. States and cities should fill the void, together with by addressing how AI may exacerbate reasonably than enhance our affordability disaster by means of unchecked deployment of power-hungry information facilities.
We’ve barely scratched the floor of AI’s revolutionary advantages. However the mayor should mindfully navigate and transparently handle potential downsides. New Yorkers will rely upon the mayor to make sure we profit from these technological positive aspects whereas avoiding harms that prudent governance can handle.
Michael Pastor is the dean for expertise regulation applications and director of the Tricarico Institute for the Enterprise of Legislation and In-Home Counsel at New York Legislation Faculty
