New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released a new review on the role of artificial intelligence in government and what good governance of the technology can look like. The report, entitled ‘Artificially Inevitable,’ analyzes the current AI landscape and proposes guidelines for good governance of a technology and industry that changes daily. This report comes just days after an Anthropic researcher resigned while giving dire warnings about the future potential of AI, prompting a renewed push for guardrails.
To drive the public discussion of AI usage and regulation across generations, the Public Advocate convened a group of students and seniors at a senior center to share their experiences, concerns, and insights about artificial intelligence. Each age group has seen enormous technological advances in their lifetime, and bringing them together in conversation brings a multifaceted perspective to the rapid onset of AI in our lives. This dialogue will help inform the work ahead for the government to implement guardrails that address the concerns of diverse populations.
A. Philip Randolph, the namesake for the senior center, was a labor leader and civil rights activist who argued that technology was the “collective creation of the people," and therefore “the people should share in the fruits of technology.”
“Our government has a responsibility to help New Yorkers better understand this technology that is rapidly changing the world we live in, and to ensure that when this technology is used, it is to the benefit of New Yorkers,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams at the event. “A responsible approach means resisting doomerism or denialism – because any sense of inevitability ignores the active role that we all – especially in government – have in regulating the use and abuse of technology. By bringing people together across experience and generation, we can better understand how to maximize the benefits and mitigate the harms.”
In a new report, ‘Artificially Inevitable,’ the Public Advocate presents the public with the foundational facts about and framework of modern artificial intelligence, and proposes principles for government use as well as guardrails to enact on the technology.
When governing in the age of AI, government should be guided by these tenets:
- Safe and Effective Systems: Policy interventions should balance potential benefits and risks.
- Social Responsibility: Accountability and inclusivity are essential to effective and responsible AI governance.
- Trust and Transparency: Early identification and ongoing management of AI risks is critical to mitigating risks.
In line with that foundation, the report proposes that the Public Advocate urges the city to pass his legislation requiring entities to obtain consent for the collection and disclosure of personal and sensitive information pertaining to New York City residents, and inform them if their information is training artificial intelligence models.
Additionally, the city should initiate workforce protections and worker trainings relative to AI, maintain AI-specific procurement standards, and hold public AI literacy trainings, much like the one hosted by the Public Advocate in Harlem today.
City government has begun to engage with the rise of AI usage among students, implementing restrictions on AI usage and screen time for the coming school year, with a prohibition on usage for elementary and middle schools.The Public Advocate, who had advocated for a yearlong pause altogether on AI usage in schools, has called this a first step, not the final word, on governing AI in schools, and in this report, pushes for government guardrails beyond the classroom.
The report calls for the state to enact transparency and consent policies for AI technology using personal data, increase corporate liability for false information, and deliver an AI bill of rights to ensure that any system making decisions without human intervention impacting their lives do so lawfully, properly, and with meaningful oversight
As A. Phillip Randolph argued, “You cannot destroy the machine. You cannot stifle the invention of various geniuses in the world.” But that does not mean accepting inevitabilities or abdicating responsibility. Rather, as he believed and this report echoes, “The community and the government have a responsibility” to act now.
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