Comment by Patricia Fahy

When an OpenAI engineer sounded the alarm on the rapid pace of AI development, warning that this technology has the potential to have cataclysmic consequences, it wasn’t just deeply alarming—but a call to action. Critically, the 2026 International AI Safety Report warned that the mass proliferation of AI development and rapid deployment is outpacing the effectiveness of current imperfect safeguards, underscoring the need for strong and effective oversight of model safety. This legislation establishes strong safeguards, independent third-party analysis and assessments of existing AI models, and includes a ‘kill switch’ if a model is deemed to pose a catastrophic risk. If the federal government won’t step in to regulate AI and institute commonsense safeguards, New York State will. I’m proud to introduce this legislation alongside sponsor Senator Gounardes, who has been a champion of AI safety and crafted the landmark RAISE Act, as well as Assemblymember Wright, to continue protecting New Yorkers from the dangers of AI and hold the large, bad corporate actors accountable.