NYC NOW - June 14, 2023: Evening Roundup

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

A free city program for immigrant families could expire at the end of the month, leaving 600 children without childcare. Plus, police experts say resigning NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell wasn't empowered to do her job. And finally, artificial intelligence is gaining traction in almost every aspect of the world. WNYC’s Michael Hill talked with New Jersey Senator Troy Singleton who is looking to put an expert in charge of how A-I is implemented in the state’s government.

Welcome to NYC Now. I'm Jene Pierre for WNYC. It is befuddling that they are threatening to cut the resource that allows our newest New Yorkers, especially those who are women, to go to work. 600 children could lose child care at the end of the month due to the expiration of a free city program for immigrant families. Mayor Eric Adams launched Promise NYC in January with $10 million in funding over six months. But he left the program out of his budget for the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1st. That has angered immigrant advocates and some city council members who are now calling on the mayor to double the funding and extend the program to a full year.

Here's council member Tiffany Caban. $20 million is roughly one-fifth of one percent of the New York City budget. That's pennies in comparison to the huge budget that we have every year. But to preschool-aged, undocumented New Yorkers and their budget. families. This is a game changer. City budget director, Jok Jeeha, has signaled his approval of the program in recent weeks and a willingness to discuss it in future budget talks. Policing experts and law enforcement workers say resigning NYPD commissioner Kishant

Sewell wasn't empowered to do her job. WNYC's Samantha Max has the details. Many observers of the NYPD have suggested Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Philip Banks have played an outsized role in the leadership of the department. Both are retired officers. Detective Christopher Muchow worked with Sewell and Nassau County. He says he feels like the first female commissioner in NYPD history wasn't allowed to do her job. I believe that that's the NYPD's loss and sadly that's the loss of the residents in New York City because they had one of the greatest in law enforcement. Adams denied those claims and said, says he would have been happy if Sewell led the department through the duration of his administration.

Stay close. There's more after the break. Artificial intelligence is gaining traction in almost every aspect of the world. In New Jersey, one lawmaker is looking to put an expert in charge of how AI is implemented in the state's government. Senator Troy Singleton has introduced a bill that would create the Garden State's first artificial intelligence officer. or call it an AI czar. For more, WNYC's Michael Hill talked with Senator Singleton about the proposed legislation. Let's start at the beginning here.

How is artificial intelligence already used in New Jersey state government? Well, currently there's a practice for a very predictive analysis that the government uses for various programs. And as this is still a nascent regulation scheme around it, we want to make sure that we set the right framework by having an expert to be employed by state government to be able to set forth said framework around how we regulate AI and its uses here in the state government in New Jersey.

The good and bad of AI has been everywhere in the news for the last year or so. What spurred you to introduce this particular bill? Well, my guiding principles around this space fall into really two buckets. One is that governance should be focused primarily on the impact of these algorithmic tools on individual civil rights and opportunities for advancement, as well as access to critical services. My second main point is in building transparency, which I think is critical. Often these systems work opaquely and are used increasingly in a wide variety of impactful settings. So we want to make sure that we have the right parameters around it,

and that is what spurred me to take action. Senator Singleton, which state entities do you think are most primed to see benefits from AI and automation and what are at risk for adverse consequences? So I think from a benefit standpoint, I think our Department of Human Services, as well as our Department of Health, two of the largest state agencies that we have here in the state, state departments that we have, will see enormous benefit. I think areas where we want to make sure, especially that there is not a negative impact

would be through our division of elections and the Department of State that houses the division of elections. So the ability to make sure that there's no artificial intelligence systems that create that cloud of controversy or cloud of skepticism is going to be critically important. While the artificial intelligence officer is maybe the most notable part of the bill, it would also create an AI advisory council. Why add that extra level of oversight? Well, I think it's important that the collective wisdom of the group be a part of that.

And I think having a broader task force to help develop and make recommendations concerning the adoption of AI, which would be consistent with what we saw from the blueprint for AI Bill of Rights that the White House worked on and published. I think it adds another layer of not just scrutiny, but accountability to make sure that these systems that we'll employ don't have the detriment of disenfranchising people or creating other types of challenges. Senator Singleton, on the personal lever here, what problems with or shortcomings of generative AI, are you most eager to see the Tsar attack if this becomes law? I'm really going to be curious to see if we could create a system that actually is going

to make the delivery of state government services quicker, faster, definitely more efficient and hopefully more cost-saving. So the artificial intelligence implementation officer has a heavy road in front of them, but I believe we'll find the right person to lead us through it. And, Senator, I know you just introduced this bill. Where does it stand right now in the legislature. Right now, the bill's currently in committee. We're winding down the beginning session. We usually go on a summer break. So I think we'll have time over the course of this summer to be able to have some more thoughtful dialogue and conversation with experts. And then ideally in the fall, we want to really hit the ground running and try and advance this full steam ahead.

That's New Jersey Senator Troy Singleton, talking with WNYC's Michael Hill. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. Catch us every weekday, three times a day. We'll be back tomorrow.