New York lawmakers want to keep AI out of news

A new proposal from state lawmakers aims to make sure that when First Read hits your inbox every morning, you know that it’s made by human hands, rather than AI. 

State Sen. Pat Fahy and Assembly Member Nily Rozic have introduced the New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act, or the NY FAIR News Act. The legislation would enact several protections for journalists and news industry workers, including requiring media companies to inform employees how they utilize AI to make content and prohibiting them from replacing human workers with artificial intelligence. The bill would also create safeguards to protect journalists and their sources from AI systems and establish safeguards for the public, like requiring disclosures if a news organization substantially uses artificial intelligence to create published content. 

Fahy said the NY FAIR News Act is meant to both protect a vulnerable industry and ensure that people can trust the news media they consume. “Perhaps one of the industries at most risk from the use of artificial intelligence is journalism and as a result, the public’s trust and confidence in accurate news reporting,” she said in a statement. Fahy cited a survey published in October from the National Association of Broadcasters that found that 76% of people are worried about AI stealing and reproducing the work of reporters.

The legislation has the backing of several unions, including the New York State AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA and the NewsGuild of New York. “The NY FAIR News Act will uphold

journalists’ credibility, safeguard the integrity of news reporting and strengthen public trust,” state AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said in a statement. “These common-sense guardrails are essential for a healthy democracy.”

Fahy’s and Rozic’s new bill is just one of several AI regulatory proposals to pop up in New York. Other, more sweeping bills to create safeguards around the development of AI systems have drawn significant lobbying efforts to prevent their passage from groups funded by Big Tech. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed landmark legislation called the RAISE Act last year to establish the strongest regulations in the country – but not before she significantly watered down the protections compared to what legislators had originally proposed.

Lawmakers appear ready to tackle AI again in this legislative session. State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, chair of her chamber’s Internet and Technology Committee, held a hearing on the matter last month. Hochul has also proposed a measure to prevent the use of deceptive AI during political campaigns.