Gotham is fending off the rise of the machines.
A Queens pol is pushing new legislation aimed at preventing artificial intelligence from terminating New Yorkers’ jobs.
Councilwoman Julie Won’s bill would create a “first-of-its-kind,” Office of Artificial Intelligence Oversight within the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
The office would ensure AI bots and other algorithmic tools don’t exploit people or wrongfully cut them out of jobs, housing, credit and access to government and other services.
The legislation – which would embolden the new office to investigate complaints of wrongful AI use and recommend penalties and other sanctions – is already gaining early steam.
It has bipartisan support from Virgina Maloney (D-Manhattan), Frank Morano (R-Staten Island) and four other council members who’ve signed on as co-sponsors.
“New Yorkers don’t get hustled easily, and we’re not about to get hustled by a computer or an AI system,” said Won after introducing the bill Wednesday.
“My constituents are workers, immigrants, renters, small business owners … and they are more likely to be harmed by unchecked AI — and the least likely to have lawyers, lobbyists, or corporate resources to fight back,” added the Democrat, whose district includes Sunnyside and Astoria.
Won, who is running in a crowded field to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District (covering parts of Queens and Brooklyn), told The Post Friday she’s pushing the bill because “New Yorkers are already living in the AI economy, and right now they have no one in their corner”
“Workers have no idea how those systems work or where to go when they’re harmed,” she said. This bill changes that.
“If an algorithm is being used to deceive or exploit you, whether you’re a delivery worker whose pay just disappeared into a black box, a job applicant rejected by a machine that never read your resume, or a freelancer whose schedule was erased overnight, then that is a consumer protection violation, and the City of New York will come after it.”
The city already has a local law in place that is supposed to regulate the use of “automated employment decision tools” — including those using AI — for hiring and promotion decisions.
However, an audit released by the state Comptroller’s Office in December found enforcement of the 2021 law is “ineffective” and has serious flaws in the complaint-handing and review process.
