⚖️ New York AI Law

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New York Joins California in Regulating Frontier Models

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act, making New York the second major tech hub to enact sweeping AI safety legislation. The law targets "frontier models"—the most powerful AI systems—defined by a training cost threshold of $100 million in computing resources. While the tech industry successfully lobbied for "chapter amendments" to be finalized in 2026 to align the bill more closely with California’s SB 53, the core requirements are active now. Developers must publish detailed safety and security protocols and, most critically, report "critical safety incidents" to the state within 72 hours. Failure to comply or making false statements in safety reports can lead to civil penalties of $1 million for a first violation and $30 million for repeat offenses, with oversight provided by a newly created office within the Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The High Bar for "Critical Harm" and Incident Reporting

The RAISE Act’s definition of "critical harm" sets a high bar, focusing on catastrophic risks such as the creation of biological weapons, automated criminal activity, or incidents resulting in more than 100 deaths or $1 billion in damages. However, for founders, the real challenge lies in the 72-hour reporting window. This is significantly more aggressive than California’s 15-day requirement, forcing companies to maintain "audit-ready" documentation and real-time monitoring of model behaviour. While the law technically targets the largest developers, it creates a "compliance gravity" that will likely pull in smaller startups. As Big Tech partners (like OpenAI or Anthropic) adjust their terms of service to meet these NY standards, downstream startups using their APIs may find themselves contractually obligated to provide the data necessary for these 72-hour reports.

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