Speaking of the tremendous potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize government services and improve efficiency, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced an AI Action Plan for “responsible” implementation of the technology by the city government.
The New York City Artificial Intelligence Action Plan released by the mayor and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser on Monday says the initiative seeks to establish a framework for city agencies to adopt AI tools while assessing risks, to enhance AI knowledge and skills among civil servants, and to use the technology to make life easier for everyday New Yorkers.
“With the release of our AI Action Plan, the first-of-its-kind for a major U.S. city, we are cementing our commitment to this emerging technology’s responsible use, and ensuring we are deploying the right tools in the right ways,” Mr. Adams wrote.
Among the 37 key initiatives in the strategy (pdf), most are scheduled for actioning in the coming year. The main duties involve creating a strong governance framework, establishing a network of external advisors across sectors, actively involving the public, and advancing AI knowledge-building initiatives.
Primary Tasks
One of the primary tasks in the city’s AI action plan is to assemble an “AI Steering Committee” made up of stakeholders from city agencies. The city has also committed to publishing a yearly AI progress report, ensuring open communication and transparency regarding the plan’s execution.
Mr. Adams gave one example of how the implementation of artificial agents can support multiculturalism in New York City, describing how his administration have started utilizing robocalls featuring his voice in multiple languages.
“The joy of this is that we’re going to eventually have it that if you are a Spanish speaker you could get this answered in the language that you speak in,” he said.
AI Prone to Bias
The city’s announcement also acknowledged challenges with AI, and that while highly beneficial, the technology has its downsides.
AI can, in some circumstances, “exhibit patterns of bias and discrimination” due to a lack of extensive and diverse research, it said.
According to a 2017 RAND research, blind spots can manifest when digital solutions—guided by training data or algorithms—consistently render unjust judgments that display a systemic bias and discrimination in areas such as criminal justice and housing against certain demographics.
“And we know the term ‘AI’ can cause anxiety, we hear it all the time. People think: ‘All of a sudden, you’re going to have a Terminator-type figure come in and take over government and displace human beings.’ That’s just not the reality. Take a deep breath, get a grip. It is going to help us function better in this city,” Mr. Adams put forward.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Museum of the City of New York's Centennial Gala honoring Michael R. Bloomberg in New York on May 24, 2023. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Museum Of The City Of New York)
Sheena Wright, deputy mayor of New York City for Public Safety, praised the AI Action Plan as a prime example of the Adams administration’s utilization of cutting-edge technology to benefit the residents of New York.
“This framework will help city agencies take advantage of AI’s potential to better deliver vital services while protecting New Yorker’s privacy and concerns about bias,” she said.
“I look forward to seeing how the MyCity AI chatbot unlocks the potential of small-business owners across our city, allowing them to focus on what they do best—growing their businesses—while government does its part in making it easier to ‘Get Stuff Done.’”
Chatbot for Businesses
New York City officials also revealed on Monday that they were introducing MyCity Business, an innovative AI-powered chatbot, to aid business owners in successfully managing and expanding their enterprises within the city.
Expanding on the original MyCity phase, which launched in March to help New York City families apply for child care assistance, this extension now includes a range of valuable content designed to support business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout their journey of starting, managing, and expanding businesses in the Empire State.
The AI chatbot will allow business owners to quickly access government-selected information from over 2,000 NYC business web pages.
