New York’s Hochul Launches Nation’s First State Ai Testing Program

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is launching a first-in-nation effort to have the state independently test AI systems and train a new generation of AI safety experts, according to a policy announcement first shared with Decoded by POLITICO.

The move comes amid heightened public concerns about the technology following hacks by AI models and warnings from top lab researchers and is a response to President Donald Trump’s decision not to pursue federal safeguards for AI. He has previously called AI safety fears a “hoax” and instead opted for a voluntary safety framework that has only been shared with companies.

“While the federal government fails to act, New York is leading the way on AI safety and holding big tech accountable,” Hochul, a Democrat, told POLITICO ahead of a public announcement Tuesday. “The stakes are too high to simply take AI companies at their word.”

The center — which is funded by a $30 million gift from Bloomberg co-founder Tom Secunda and a $25 million research investment from SUNY and New York state — is set to launch before New York’s major AI safety law, the RAISE Act, comes into effect on Jan. 1. That will require submissions of detailed safety frameworks from AI companies operating in New York State, which Hochul’s office hopes will be scrutinized by researchers at the new center.

“AI is opening up questions that scientists could not tackle before,” said Secunda, who also serves as the board chair of Empire AI, a $500 million public-private partnership. “With Empire AI and researchers across New York, the Center can test systems independently and give public officials evidence they can use.”

Hochul announced the creation of the center in her State of the State speech in January. It’s supported by computing power from Empire AI.

Over 80 leading scientists and researchers on AI systems from across New York state will contribute to the effort, which will be run by the New York Center for AI Responsibility and Research at Binghamton University, according to details shared by Hochul’s office. The initiative will be led by Jeannette Wing, the executive vice president for research at Columbia University, and Greg Morrisett, the vice provost of Cornell Tech.

“We need new techniques that can be applied to this new kind of system with swarms of autonomous agents acting independently and without control. How can you first detect that they’re going to do harm, and how can you prevent them from doing harm?” said Wing. “The beauty of what’s being proposed is that this state is committing resources to really light this up.”

Democrats are laying the groundwork for an AI offensive next Congress, with plans for subpoenas of major AI executives and legislative efforts that focus on AI safety, online child safety and export controls.

But thus far, states like New York and California have gone the furthest in regulating AI companies, setting up a de facto national standard for regulation within these hubs for the industry.

This new effort from Hochul’s office will fund research that seeks to hold AI companies accountable. But these researchers will only have access to what AI companies are forced to disclose publicly; their internal AI models that remain in development will still be private.

A version of this story first appeared in Decoded by POLITICO, the must-read briefing on the people, power moves, policy battles and market shifts defining what’s next in global technology. Sign up to subscribe to the newsletter and listen to the podcast.