By MARC ALESSI //
The race to become the national leader in artificial intelligence is accelerating, with several states making significant investments in the infrastructure that powers AI.
They are opening their arms to innovation and recognizing the importance of remaining competitive with a technology that is already redefining what industries thought was possible.
As a global commerce hub and the world’s second-most valuable innovation ecosystem, New York is well positioned to lead the pack – but recent state actions risk tripping us up.
In the final days of the state legislature’s 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed a sweeping slate of AI regulations, despite significant concerns raised by the business and investor community about the impact of these bills. Among them: the RAISE Act, which imposes broad new mandates on developers and deployers of AI systems.
Marc Alessi: Calling out RAISE.
Not only would it force new liabilities on startups, it would also force significant new compliance burdens and costs onto deployers like small and medium-sized businesses.
These mandates risk crushing New York’s tech ecosystem, chasing away promising AI projects and pushing future innovation to more welcoming states.
As California Gov. Gavin Newsom noted in his veto of the bill on which New York’s RAISE Act is based, the policy’s intentions are noble, but such a broad proposal threatens to freeze innovation in its tracks.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has said that “whoever dominates the AI industry will dominate the next era of human history,” should follow the same path and veto legislation that could set New York back.
New York has the potential to be the national leader in AI. New York City alone is home to more than 2,000 AI startups, including 35 unique projects that have raised $17 billion in investment. Our top universities and research institutions are directing nation-leading research and developing a new generation of AI-skilled professionals and startup founders.
Statewide, 400,000 New Yorkers work in high-tech positions, placing the state in the top three nationwide for high-tech employment.
Kathy Hochul: Future in the balance.
Enacting bills like the RAISE Act threatens to cede our competitive edge. If we want New York to remain a home to innovation, we must lead with pro-growth policies.
I am certain that Gov. Hochul can strike a balance that establishes sensible safeguards without sabotaging the Empire State’s position as one of the world’s top tech ecosystems.
As the governor has proclaimed, AI offers another “Erie Canal moment.” Let’s seize it – and not chase our best and brightest out of state or overseas with poorly wrought regulations.
Former New York State Assemblyman Marc Alessi is the executive director of the Business Incubator Association of New York State.
This commentary appeared originally in the Times Union of Albany. Used with permission.
