New York City Council is taking aim at artificial intelligence — introducing a slate of bills Friday that would mandate “kill switches,” require third-party safety validation, and pay cash rewards to whistleblowers, the New York Post reported.
Council Speaker Julie Menin said the city is “fast becoming the technology and AI capital of the world” and therefore has “an even greater responsibility” to protect New Yorkers. The package heads to a rare council-wide hearing Oct. 5; Menin sent letters inviting the heads of Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, SpaceX, and Meta.
Proposals would bar marketing, selling, or deploying AI systems in the five boroughs without outside expert validation of safety claims, and require a “human override that can shut down the system” for AI tools used in the city — with a $25,000 fine per offense. A separate bill would create what the council called a first-in-the-nation approach: whistleblowers rewarded from fines collected from violators they help catch.
The push follows Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan for AI firms to register in a state portal starting in November and report critical safety incidents within 72 hours. A council spokesperson said the bills target companies with offices in New York and are enforceable by the city.
Sources: New York Post (Hannah Fierick)
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