An artificial intelligence-powered chatbot rolled out in New York City that has reportedly advised small business owners to break the law will continue to remain accessible to the general public, Mayor Eric Adams has said.
However, the NYC Mayor stressed city officials were currently working hard to iron out the various issues with the chatbot tool, which the city has opted to leave on its official government website for now.
The city’s bot launched in October last year and is powered through Microsoft’s Azure AI services. It provides residents and aspiring entrepreneurs with algorithmically generated text responses to questions they have regarding how to start and operate a business in the city.
It does include a disclaimer that it may “occasionally produce incorrect, harmful or biased” information and reminds users that its answers do not amount to legal or professional advice.
Mr. Adams noted that various problems with new technology should always be expected, no matter what or how advanced the technology is.
Bot Giving Out False Guidance, Report Finds
After the findings were published, experts, including Rosalind Black, Citywide Housing Director at the legal assistance nonprofit Legal Services NYC, told The Markup that the bot should be immediately taken down.“If this chatbot is not being done in a way that is responsible and accurate, it should be taken down” from the city’s website, she said.
Other experts, including Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, an advocacy organization for restaurants and bars, noted that while AI can be a powerful tool in helping to support small businesses, it can also create huge legal challenges by providing the wrong legal information.
“It can also be a massive liability if it’s providing the wrong legal information,” Mr. Rigie told the publication.
Speaking during the press conference, Mr. Adams said city officials are currently working to identify the problems with the bot while vowing to fix the issues.
