New York lawmakers eye lessons from other states to draft new AI regulations

New York lawmakers said Wednesday they will introduce several proposals to regulate artificial intelligence in the state, and learn lessons from other states, like California, where concerns from tech giants squashed historic AI legislation over the weekend.

State assemblymembers held a hearing in Albany last week to examine the best way to protect New York consumers as the nascent automated technology develops.

Assemblyman Alex Bores wants the Legislature to create a legal standard to determine liability for AI usage and require social media companies and AI generators keep watermarks on generated images to help users distinguish reality.

“It’s much more difficult to detect what is false than it is to prove what is true,” Bores said Wednesday.

The Manhattan Democrat intends to introduce several pieces of related legislation in December, or just before a newly elected Legislature returns to Albany. The policies would build upon hundreds of millions of dollars in the last budget to build an AI research hub in Buffalo, and restricting the use of AI deepfakes in New York election campaigns.

“There’s a lot of debates within the tech ecosystem on exactly how much of this technology should be released publicly versus how much should maybe be under a stricter scrutiny,” Bores said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the weekend vetoed a bill that would have imposed sweeping AI safety measures after pushback from the tech industry.

New York lawmakers said they are watching what happens in other states like California to learn what not to do when creating rules to regulate artificial intelligence.

Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech:NYC, said AI cannot be regulated using a one-size-fits-all approach.

“You don’t want to shut all kinds of things down before you even know what the world of the possible is,” she told Spectrum News 1.

Trade group Tech:NYC represents tech industry giants like Google and Facebook’s parent company, Meta.

Samuels said she’ll work with state leaders to create a framework that has flexibility to protect New Yorkers while allowing the technology to develop.

“The most important thing is to figure out how we can make sure that New York state is attracting responsible and efficient builders of AI tools [and] that we are ensuring there’s economic development around New York state,” she said.

Big tech companies would prefer Congress handle broad AI regulations, but the state must support the technology’s success within the larger economy in the meantime.

State Senate Internet & Technology Committee Chair Kirsten Gonzalez carries a bill to regulate AI chat bots, like Meta’s, known for spreading misinformation — a top priority next session.

“…How and when and where does it make sense to use this technology, versus regulating the technology itself? Because we don’t want to get in the way of innovation,” she said.

Gonzalez sponsored a bill that passed the Legislature this year to regulate state agencies’ use of certain automated AI systems. Gov. Kathy Hochul must take action by the end of the year.  

Hochul included AI proposals in her last State of the State address. Representatives from her office on Wednesday would not answer questions about her plans to discuss the topic in her next early-January address.

“There’s things we want to ensure — steps that are taken to keep everyone safe and we don’t necessarily know all the tools to get there, but we have to figure it out quickly,” Bores said.