New York lawmakers have taken a firm stand with the new RAISE Act – a measured step designed to manage the risks of advanced AI. The bill, aimed at major players like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, seeks to put essential safety checks in place to avoid scenarios that could lead to widespread harm or significant financial loss. This move is a welcome nod for experts like Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, who have long urged for more responsible AI development.
Unlike the missteps seen with California’s SB 1047, the RAISE Act is crafted to balance safety with innovation, ensuring that smaller startups and academic institutions aren’t sidelined. State Senator Andrew Gounardes underlines how rapidly AI is evolving – and with it, the diminishing window to install proper safeguards. Under the act, major AI laboratories must now release detailed safety and security reports, and they’re obligated to report promptly regarding any safety breaches or incidents of model theft. Non-compliance could mean fines of up to $30 million, enforced by the New York Attorney General.
Specifically, the legislation targets large-scale companies – both US-based and international – running AI models trained with more than $100 million in resources and accessible to New York residents. Nathan Calvin from Encode points out that this bill takes on criticisms of previous safety measures without overreaching; it stops short of enforcing a “kill switch” or holding companies responsible for issues that arise after the training phase.
Despite some hesitancy from Silicon Valley, Assemblymember Alex Bores is confident the act won’t stifle tech innovation. Industry figures like Anjney Midha from Andreessen Horowitz have raised concerns that the regulation might hinder progress during this crucial period of global AI competition. Even Anthropic’s co-founder, Jack Clark, noted that while the bill’s broad approach could be challenging for smaller companies, assurances from Senator Gounardes mean the regulation aims to stay manageable.
If you’ve ever been cautious about embracing new technologies amid regulatory uncertainty, this development might just offer the clarity needed to move forward. By anchoring safety without sacrificing creativity, New York is setting a tone for the rest of the industry to follow.
