FILE PHOTO: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a media availability after visiting victims of an earlier subway shooting at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 12, 2022. (Marc A. Hermann / MTA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is tightening the leash on the artificial intelligence sector, despite threats of legal challenges from the industry and a lack of support from the federal government.
Hochul announced Monday touted key provisions of the Responsible AI Safety and Education, or RAISE Act, that go into effect in January , setting new transparency, safety, and reporting requirements for developers of the most AI models.
"Donald Trump and Washington Republicans may be standing still as AI grows more unpredictable, but New York will not," Hochul, a Democrat, said in remarks. "When companies are building some of the most powerful technology in the world, people deserve to know what they’re doing to keep it safe, and those companies should be held accountable when things go wrong."
Under the new rules, the state will require large frontier AI developers to register with New York beginning in November, ahead of the law taking effect Jan. 1, and provide certain information about the status of their research and development.
The law requires "serious" safety incidents to be reported within 72 hours, while the largest developers must also detail how they assess and guard against potentially catastrophic risks.
Attorney General Letitia James, who joined Hochul for Monday's announcement, pointed out that the new law has strong enforcement provisions with AI developers subject to fines up to $3 million per violation.
"The extraordinary promise of artificial intelligence is not an excuse for big tech to break the law, ignore serious safety risk, or put New Yorkers in danger," James, a Democrat, said in Monday's remarks.
Hochul said she is aware that AI developers are "already on the phone with their legal teams planning their lawsuits against us" to block the new requirements.
"Here's my message to them: Bring it on," she said in Monday's remarks. "We will fight you in court, and we will hold you accountable. Because here in New York, our people always come before the race for the most powerful technology."
Hochul also announced that she has appointed Marc Gilman to oversee the ongoing implementation of the law and the state's new DIGIT office as New York’s deputy director for the RAISE Act. She said the new agency will be hiring more staff with expertise in AI development in the coming weeks.
The governor also said New York will be looking at other ways to build on the RAISE Act, including so-called "kill switches" designed to isolate or shut down an advanced AI model if it goes rogue.
The moves come amid heightened concerns in Washington — and stern warnings from the industry — and about the possibly dire consequences of the rapidly evolving machine learning technology.
Hochul suggested on Monday that New York and other states are largely on their own with the federal government still yet to put guardrails on the industry.
Trump signed an executive order last December that limited states' ability to regulate artificial intelligence and upend existing laws. Congress has failed to pass an AI regulation bill and remains in recess ahead of the midterm elections.
More recently, Trump has called the angst over the development of AI a "hoax" and says fears of AI destroying humanity are exaggerated.
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