Hochul floats AI kill switch as New York requires frontier model registration in November

Hochul floats AI kill switch as New York requires frontier model registration in November

ALBANY, NY — New York’s push to regulate artificial intelligence is raising new questions for startups after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that “frontier AI developers” will be required to begin registering with a state portal for compliance this November as part of the RAISE Act. Alongside that announcement Monday, Hochul also raised the possibility of an AI “kill switch” — a concept that could allow the state to order an AI model to be shut down.

Zach Kahn, a senior advisor with the American Innovators Network, said the idea of a kill switch can sound straightforward, but could have significant ripple effects for smaller companies that depend on AI models to operate.

“They can tell a model developer to turn off that model,” Kahn said. “The concern that small businesses might have from something like this is you know a lot of these small businesses build the models that run their companies.”

Kahn helps represent 40 companies that use AI as a key part of their development, including 10 in New York. He said an AI kill switch is not a one-size-fits-all solution, particularly when companies build p...