State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Weekly News - Better AI Guidance Needed for State Agencies

 

Improved Guidance Needed for State Agencies Using AI To Avoid Risks

New York State’s centralized guidance and oversight of agencies’ use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is inadequate and creates a risk that the technology could be used irresponsibly, according to audit by Comptroller DiNapoli. The audit looked at the state’s overall AI policy and how AI was used at four state agencies: the Office for the Aging, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Transportation.

The audit, the second in a series on AI Use in New York Government, follows a 2023 audit of New York City’s AI Governance.

“New York State agencies are using AI to monitor prisoners’ phone calls, catch fraudulent driver’s license applications, assist older adults, and support government services,” DiNapoli said. “Our audit found insufficient central guidance and oversight to check that these systems are reliable and accurate, and no inventory of what AI the state is using. This audit is a wake-up call. Stronger governance over the state’s growing use of AI is needed to safeguard against the well-known risks that come with it.”

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April is Financial Literacy Month. Identity theft is a problem in New York State and it can happen to anyone. Learn more about what to do if your personal information has fallen into the wrong hands, and find other educational resources and tools from Comptroller DiNapoli to help you improve your financial outlook.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK

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• DiNapoli audit finds state agencies largely flying solo with AI
  
  
• DiNapoli: Women in New York still earn far less than men
  
  
• Hochul Says Trump’s Tariffs Are Already Hurting New York Economy

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Thomas P. DiNapoli

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 9 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ATTACK ON MTA BUS

 

Defendant Stabbed Victim in the Head

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a Bronx man was sentenced to nine years in prison for Attempted Murder in the second degree for stabbing a man in the head. 

District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant got onto a bus and attacked a man by stabbing him in the head. A trivial argument about holding open a door had far-reaching and devastating effects.” 

District Attorney Clark said Dayshawn Bannister, 29, of the Bronx was sentenced today to nine years in prison and five years post release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Isales. The defendant pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the second degree, firstdegree Assault, and second-degree Gang Assault on February 6, 2025. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for each charge which will run concurrently. His co-defendant, Destiny Bryant pleaded guilty to third-degree Assault on March 20, 2025, and was sentenced to a conditional discharge, to include a period of community service.

According to the investigation, on February 15, 2024, at approximately 8:25 a.m., Bryant got into a dispute with Cheddie Defrietis, 38, over an apartment door not being held open at 869 East 147th Street. Shortly after, Bryant followed Defrietis to a bus stop and called her boyfriend, who in turn called his brother, Dayshawn Bannister. Bannister got on the bus and ordered passengers to get off. He asked a passenger, Peter Crosby, 35, if he knew Defrietis before stabbing him in the head, puncturing his brain.

District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Brian Destefano of the 40th Precinct Squad for his work in the investigation.