New York City Council passes landmark AI oversight package

New York City Council has unanimously passed the GUARD Act, a sweeping package of bills designed to bring transparency and accountability to the city’s use of artificial intelligence tools.

The legislation creates an independent oversight office, sets mandatory standards for fairness and transparency and creates a public list of every AI tool the city uses. Council member Jennifer Gutierrez, who chairs the council’s technology committee and led the legislation, said the package creates the guardrails the city urgently needs.

“We just got through a campaign cycle here, and [AI] was a big topic about how opponents were utilizing AI tools for the purpose of campaigning, so it’s still very fresh in everyone’s minds,” Gutierrez said in an interview. “I think everyone wants to get behind more transparency and better functioning government that’s going to protect people.”

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