Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is fully embracing the controversial technology known as artificial intelligence with the release of an action plan Monday for its use in city government and a “chatbot” designed to help small business owners.
The “New York City Artificial Intelligence Action Plan” lays out 37 steps the administration can take to incorporate AI into its day-to-day operations to make government work more smoothly for New Yorkers, according to City Hall. Those include establishing ways to responsibly use AI in government, preparing municipal employees to work with the technology and creating guidelines around procuring AI from private companies.
The administration also launched the next phase of its MyCity online portal, which it hopes to eventually be a one-stop shop for all city services and benefits.
The newest buildout of MyCity is meant to serve as an all-in-one resource for small businesses, where they can access information on licensing, permits and applications. It follows the first phase, rolled out in March, that allows families to check their eligibility and apply for city child care benefits online.
The small business portal includes an AI chatbot tool, which is designed to answer direct questions from small business owners in real time.
During a City Hall news conference unveiling the plan on Monday, the mayor insisted it aims to utilize the benefits of AI, while taking the technology’s risks into account.
“Artificial Intelligence presents a once in a generation opportunity for governments to deliver better services to New Yorkers,” Adams said. “But we must be clear-eyed about its potential and pitfalls and our plan takes that into account. We provide a framework for government to carefully evaluate AI-based tools and protect against risk.”
Many have raised concerns around AI’s use in recent years, especially when it comes to privacy and the specter of the technology taking jobs away from humans.
The city’s Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser said he wanted to bring the use of AI to government services after observing how it is already being employed by private companies.
“You may get a pre-approval notice on a credit card saying that you’re pre-approved, and here’s the limit that you’re approved to. Why can’t we do similar things for public benefits?” Fraser asked.
One use of AI the city is already introducing is the chatbot for assisting small business owners in navigating the many layers of bureaucracy that come with owning a small enterprise in the five boroughs. The service promises to let proprietors type any small business-related question into the chatbot on the MyCity website and be provided with information gathered from over 2,000 websites and articles related to owning businesses in the city.
“The AI chatbot is a one stop guide for business owners that instantly delivers all the information you need in one place. All you have to do is ask,” city Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Kevin Kim said.
While the tool currently only provides information in English, Adams said his administration is aiming to make it available in hundreds of languages.
Those who cannot get their questions answered by the bot will be connected to a human city worker, he said.
City Council Member Jennifer Gutièrrez, who chairs the council’s Technology Committee, applauded the administration for “making progress” in regulating AI and phasing in its use in city government. But she said it is important to continue holding the administration accountable to its commitments as it works to implement the plan.
“It remains to be seen whether these promises will translate into tangible results,” Gutièrrez said in a statement to amNewYork Metro.
“We’ve previously seen similar commitments, that too often fall short of expectations,” she continued. “It’s essential to remain vigilant and hold the administration accountable to their plans, ensuring that this progress becomes a reality. My colleagues and I are working on multiple bills that would support these important guidelines by codifying them into law.”
The mayor has already caught heat for saying during the Monday press conference that his administration has begun using AI to make robocalls in various languages using his voice, even though English is the only language he speaks.
“People stop me on the street all the time and they say ‘I didn’t know you speak Mandarin,’” Adams said.
Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, blasted the robocalls as “unethical” in a statement.
“The mayor is making deep fakes of himself,” Cahn said. “This is deeply unethical, especially on the taxpayer’s dime. Using AI to convince New Yorkers that he speaks languages he doesn’t is deepy Orwellian. Yes, we need announcements in all of New Yorkers’ native languages, but the deep fakes are just a creepy vanity project.”
