NYC Mayor Proposes ‘Responsible’ AI Strategy for the City

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday he is rolling out an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan in light of the growing “risks” of the technology. Adams said at a press conference that he hopes to use AI responsibly “to improve quality of life for New Yorkers.”

The 51-page plan encompasses 37 actions to govern AI, and the mayor said 29 are set to be rolled out in 2024. The AI Action Plan will focus on not only establishing a framework to govern AI. It also creates an advisory board that will look into the opportunities and challenges AI poses, prepare city employees to work responsibly with AI, and publish annual AI progress reports about how the city is using the technology.

“While artificial intelligence presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to more effectively deliver for New Yorkers, we must be clear-eyed about the potential pitfalls and associated risks these technologies present,” Adams said in a press release. “I am proud to introduce a plan that will strike a critical balance in the global AI conversation — one that will empower city agencies to deploy technologies that can improve lives while protecting against those that can do harm.”

The AI Action Plan is the first of its kind to be introduced in a major U.S. city, which also introduced an AI chatbot to answer questions about how to introduce artificial intelligence in businesses on the MyCity Business website. The chatbot provides information based on more than 2,000 NYC websites and business articles, and Adams says it is “really about lifting the boulder of bureaucracy.”

“People should not be afraid to interact with government,” Adams said. “Many people would rather lay on a bed of nails than having to call the government to just ask basic questions.”

New York City already uses more than 30 algorithmic tools at roughly a dozen agencies, but the AI Action Plan will reportedly establish new policies around it. The existing tools are used to analyze crime patterns, determine depression referrals, match applicants to schools, and identify the likelihood of severe harm to children in active investigations.

Artificial intelligence software relies on outside data and can parrot ideologies of bias and discrimination, leading to the potential for discrimination against people of color and women. IBM warned about potential AI bias in a blog post on Monday, saying it is up to governing bodies to create “policies, practices, and frameworks to guide the responsible development and use of AI technologies.”

IBM added that “using flawed training data can result in algorithms that repeatedly produce errors, unfair outcomes, or even amplify the bias inherent in the flawed data.”

“We know the term AI can cause anxiety, you hear it all the time,” Adams said. “People think all of a sudden you’re going to have a Terminator-type figure come in and take over the government and displace human beings. That’s just not the reality. Take a deep breath, get a grip. It’s going to help us function better in the city.”