NYC Lawmakers Aim to Lead Nation in Establishing AI Safety Rules
PYMNTS | ·
New York City is positioning itself as a leader in an effort to slow down the development of artificial intelligence (AI), the Wall Street Journal reported Monday (Oct. 5). The New York City Council held a hearing Monday in which lawmakers heard from, and in some cases grilled, representatives of OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google as well as former employees of AI […] The post NYC Lawmakers Aim to Lead Nation in Establishing AI Safety Rules appeared first on PYMNTS.com .
New York City is positioning itself as a leader in an effort to slow down the development of artificial intelligence (AI), the Wall Street Journal reported Monday (Oct. 5).
The New York City Council held a hearing Monday in which lawmakers heard from, and in some cases grilled, representatives of OpenAI , Anthropic , Meta and Google as well as former employees of AI companies, according to the report.
The hearing was held as the New York City council considers several bills that aim to rein in AI. The bills include ones that would establish a city-run “kill switch” for AI, protections for whistleblowers and restrictions on the use of AI in public schools, the report said.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in opening remarks that bills in New York could serve as a national model and that the “idea that artificial intelligence is going to self-regulate defies all reason,” per the report.
When Menin asked the AI executives about potential worst-case scenarios, those from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta said they support guardrails on AI, including third-party evaluators, according to the report.
Menin also asked the executives about reported remarks in which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the world should accept that some bad things may happen along with the benefits of AI.
OpenAI’s head of policy development and operations, Morgan Dwyer , said, per the report: “Clearly some risks are unacceptable. But we think it’s important to get technology into the hands of as many people as possible so that they can benefit from it.”
In a Sept. 28 press release announcing that the New York City Council would hold this hearing on potential AI risks , the council said that other than Meta, the companies whose representatives agreed to appear did so only after the council threatened to subpoena them.
The release also said the Council is considering enacting a whistleblower incentive program, a private right-of-action for New Yorkers harmed by AI agents, independent third-party validation requirements and other AI bills.
“Given the high stakes, these firms owe it to the public to come before the Council, answer our questions and provide input on our proposed legislation under oath,” Menin said in the release.
The post NYC Lawmakers Aim to Lead Nation in Establishing AI Safety Rules appeared first on PYMNTS.com .