New York Governor Ho Chu announced on Monday, September 21st, that the state government will further implement the “Responsible AI Safety and Education Act” (RAISE Act) passed last year. Starting from November this year, large-scale cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) developers will be required to register with the state government and prepare for the safety, transparency, and incident reporting requirements that will take effect from January next year.
The state government also stated that in the coming months, it will study further measures to strengthen AI supervision.
Governor Ho Chu stated in a press conference that starting November, New York State will require large-scale cutting-edge AI developers to register with the state government and comply with the transparency framework outlined in the “Responsible AI Safety and Education Act.” In the event of a major safety incident, they must report to the state government’s new “Digital Innovation, Governance, Integrity, and Trust Office” (DIGIT) within 72 hours. Furthermore, companies will also be required to submit quarterly catastrophic risk assessments and be subject to relevant state regulatory oversight. Starting from January 1, 2027, relevant companies will officially fall under these regulations.
“As companies are creating one of the most powerful technologies in the world, people have the right to know what they are doing to ensure safety; when things go wrong, these companies should be held accountable,” Governor Ho Chu said. With AI technology rapidly advancing, New York State cannot wait for the federal government to take action, and she will continue to explore additional measures to protect the people of New York. Possible future studies may include safety measures such as an AI “kill switch,” but no decisions have been made yet.
New York Attorney General Janet Leung stated, “The tremendous potential brought by artificial intelligence cannot be an excuse for large tech companies to violate laws, ignore serious safety risks, or put New Yorkers in danger.”
She expressed that her office will take action against companies that violate the law. Recently, the AG’s office issued a reminder to AI industry employees, encouraging them to report potential illegal activities related to internal development, testing, and deployment within companies, and established reporting channels to receive information on serious risks related to network security, data privacy, fraud, and other AI-related issues.
State Senator Andrew Gounardes is one of the main proponents of the “Responsible AI Safety and Education Act.” He stated during a press conference that when he and State Assemblyman Alex Bores introduced the bill, global tech giants still considered related risks to be “speculative” and something they could handle internally; however, recent safety incidents in AI models during testing have shown that regulation cannot solely rely on companies to decide.
In addition to announcing the “Responsible AI Safety and Education Act,” Governor Ho Chu also appointed Marc Gilman as the Deputy Director responsible for implementing the act in the DIGIT office. Gilman is the first full-time employee of the DIGIT office, previously serving as General Counsel and Vice President of Compliance at Theta Lake, responsible for legal and compliance work related to AI, privacy, and network security.
During the press conference, Ho Chu urged the federal government and other states to take action. She emphasized that AI technology transcends state and national borders and cannot be solely handled by New York State; New York can establish a regulatory model first, which can later be adopted and improved by the federal government and other regions.