What’s Next for AI in New York: 2024 Caucus Weekend Recap
There’s near-total consensus that AI technologies are poised to broadly transform New York’s economy – entrepreneurs know it, lawmakers know it, and Tech:NYC knows it. So this weekend, our team was on the ground in Albany to ask: What next?
Each year, Tech:NYC leads a delegation of startup founders and other tech leaders to join elected leaders for the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators’ annual conference – “Caucus Weekend,” as it’s coloquially called. This year’s conference was all about AI, and we wanted to ensure the legislators had access to the founders building the next generation of AI tools:
Sunrise AI CEO Deepak Shrivastava is using AI to revolutionize credits assessments and expand financial health outcomes for those with thin or no credit histories.
COI Energy CEO SaLisa Berrien is deploying AI to identify and eliminate energy waste in buildings and repurpose it for good.
Plural CEO Damola Ogundipe is leveraging AI to make public policy data easily discoverable, interpretable, and collaborative.
(From left) Assembly Member Khaleel Anderson with Sunrise AI CEO Deepak Shrivastava, Block pubic policy lead Chelsi Bennett, COI Energy CEO SaLisa Berrien, Plural CEO Damola Ogundipe, and Assembly Member Clyde Vanel, following a session on public sector uses of AI tecnologies.
As these founders led multiple sessions of the conference (plus Tech:NYC’s wildly popular Caucus happy hour!), the tone was decidedly optimistic: New York is in a unique position to harness the benefits of AI and lead the nation on protections that are both pro-safety and pro-innovation.
Empire AI, the state’s groundbreaking proposal to convene a group of public and private universities to establish a state-on-the-art AI computing center, picked up a lot of buzz.
As our president and CEO Julie Samuels said, “It’s more important than ever that we’re preparing New Yorkers to thrive in a digital-first society. We’re lucky to have a first-class network of institutions taking on that mission. I’m confident the progress they’ll be able to achieve through Empire AI will catalyze all kinds of economic benefits across the state.”
Tech:NYC CEO Julie Samuels shares support for Empire AI alongside SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr.; RPI President Martin A. Schmidt; Assembly Members Clyde Vanel, Alex Bores, and Patricia Fahy; and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.
So what’s next? We double down our commitment to the potential AI can bring to all New Yorkers. Innovators across the world are building AI tools, of course, but New York is the single-most attractive place for those ready to apply and scale what they’re building.
The next great solutions to expand access to financial well-being, modernize government services, and increase housing affordability will be AI-powered. We’re more confident than ever New York is ready to lead.
A special thanks to Google for Startups for making the trip possible for our startup members.
Additional thanks to the officials who sponsored our panels this year: Assembly Members George Alvarez, Khaleel Anderson, Brian Cunningham, Alicia Hyndman, and Clyde Vanel; and State Senator Kristen Gonzalez.
And one more round of thanks to our happy hour sponsoring partners: Booking Holdings, DoorDash, and Salesforce.
Of course, our partnerships with lawmakers and other public leaders isn’t limited to a single weekend – year-round engagement is how we believe New York sets itself apart as a global leader in AI and the tech sector more broadly.
Until next year!
