New York City’s new AI legislative package features ‘kill switch’ and whistleblower incentive

The New York City Council introduced a slate of bills Friday to address the potential risks posed by artificial intelligence without proper regulations in place.Council Speaker Julie Menin announced the legislative package, which includes a “kill switch” mandate and a first-in-the-nation whistleblower incentive program.The so-called kill switch would let human developers shut down AI systems “marketed, offered for sale, or deployed” in New York City if they lose control of the technology, the council said. No further details about the kill switch were provided, but third-party validators would be required to check that all AI systems within the city’s five boroughs have a kill switch. Failure to comply with this particular bill, sponsored by Menin, would result in a $25,000 penalty for the AI company and the validator.Another one of Menin’s bills seeks to create a financial incentive for whistleblowers to “report bad actors or major violations” within the AI industry, according to the council. Under this program, whistleblowers would receive a portion of the fines or penalties paid by AI companies that violate applicable laws.A separate bill, sponsored by Councilman Kevin Riley, would amend New York City’s whistleblower law to protect city employees and covered contractors and subcontractors who raise the alarm about AI use or development posing a threat to public safety.“New York City is fast becoming the technology and AI capital of the world, which we want to encourage,” Menin said. “But that also means we now have an even greater responsibility to ensure that we have the appropriate safeguards in place to protect New Yorkers from unintended consequences.”President Donald Trump has adopted a less cautious view of frontier AI models and dismissed the existential concerns regarding the rapidly advancing technology as a “hoax.”The council speaker took a shot at the federal government’s approach to AI regulation.“While the federal government fails to meet the moment and take decisive action, New York City will explore nation-leading measures that protect the public while allowing innovation to thrive,” she added. “We can and must be both pro-innovation and pro-safety.”The newly introduced legislative package features 10 prospective bills that will be considered at an Oct. 5 councilwide hearing, where all 51 members will be convened to examine the package.Menin previously asked Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sunder Pichai, SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to attend and participate in the hearing. If they don’t oblige, the council can subpoena them to participate.The city’s legislative body teased that additional bills may prohibit the generation of deepfake content and address the impacts that AI algorithms have on job duties.The council’s announcement comes four days after Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) revealed that AI developers must start registering with the state government in November before the Responsible AI Safety and Education Act takes effect at the start of next year. The companies must also comply with strict transparency standards that require them to publish safety protocols and report critical safety incidents within 72 hours.New York will consider looking into adopting kill-switch mechanisms that override AI systems “if they’re deemed feasible and in the best interest of our state,” Hochul said.NEW YORK ORDERS FRONTIER AI DEVELOPERS TO REGISTER WITH STATEIt remains unclear how a state-mandated AI kill switch will be implemented, as the concept is relatively new.Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed an executive order to advance the creation of a kill switch verified by an independent third party on an ongoing basis. California started recruiting experts to fulfill the governor’s directive.