Sen. Gounardes: City Council Hearing Makes Clear—AI Safety Regulations are Necessary and Urgent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 5, 2026

New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes issues the following statement in response to today’s New York City Council oversight hearing examining the risks posed by artificial intelligence:

“It’s not like we didn’t already know, but I’m glad today’s Council hearing made it abundantly clear: the biggest AI corporations can’t be trusted to regulate themselves, and it’s up to us to ensure they don’t put New Yorkers’ safety at risk.

“Throughout the day, reps for major AI corporations failed to adequately answer basic questions about the risks their models pose or even how many people staff their safety teams. They repeatedly claim to support smart guardrails on AI, even as they’ve spent millions on an army of lobbyists to defeat legislation that would create those guardrails, like my RAISE Act.

“I’m glad the City Council is taking proactive action at the local level to promote AI safety and transparency, and I look forward to working with them to put forward a robust, all-of-the-above approach to hold these corporations to account for the extreme recklessness they've displayed—towards the planet, towards kids, towards consumers, and towards all of humanity. The political moment we find ourselves in demands nothing less.”

Background:

Last year, Senator Gounardes passed the Responsible AI Safety and Education Act (RAISE) Act, which requires the largest AI companies to create basic safety and security protocols for severe risks such as assisting in the creation of bioweapons or carrying out automated criminal activity. 

More recently, Senator Gounardes has introduced additional legislation to regulate AI. One proposal would require independent third-party audit of frontier AI models. The other would strengthen mandatory safety frameworks designed to prevent AI models from contributing to catastrophic outcomes, including cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Press Contact:

Billy Richling

Communications Director

State Senator Andrew Gounardes

billy@senatorgounardes.nyc

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