Tech:NYC Digest: October 24

Tech:NYC Digest: October 24

October 24, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

From Capitol Hill forums to mayoral robocalls in Mandarin, every level of New York government is exploring AI’s endless potential. 🏛️

  • In today’s digest, how AI is streamlining city services, a multi-billion dollar NYC subway investment, and how to win the NYC restaurant reservation game.

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  • At long last, the Second Avenue subway expansion has an end in sight. (New York Daily News)

    • Funding for the transit expansion is falling into place with the federal government expected to kick in $3.4 billion to help expand the Q line deeper into East Harlem and connect the line to the 4, 5, and 6 trains.

  • In a piece of local-national news: the Biden administration designated 31 new technology hubs across 32 states, including one in the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region. (Spectrum News) 

    • The designation in upstate New York recognizes the region’s role as a “semiconductor superhighway” and clears the way for those cities to apply for billions of dollars in federal funding to support chips manufacturing and other economic development projects. 

  • Last week, NYC released new rules for outdoor dining structures. Starting spring 2024, restaurants’ outdoor seating areas must be open-air with lightweight furniture and set apart from crosswalks and subways. (Crain’s New York)

In other reading:

  • All of the City People on New York Magazine’s “Inside Power” List (including Tech:NYC’s Julie Samuels) (Curbed)

  • How to Win the Restaurant Reservation Game (New York Times)

  • How Cookies Conquered New York (Grub Street)

YOU’RE INVITED: On Thursday, October 26, Tech:NYC is proud to support Child Privacy Laws and the Internet: Impacts on Vulnerable Communities, a symposium from the Information Law Institute at NYU School of Law. The symposium will feature legal experts, community leaders, and scholars on the impacts, implementation, and moral debates around the child privacy laws restricting youth access to social media and the internet. Admission is free and breakfast is provided. Please RSVP to attend here.

This afternoon, all eyes were on the second of nine “AI insight forums” that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is convening to get lawmakers up to speed as they consider regulations on the technology.

  • ICYMI: The forums were first announced at an event Tech:NYC hosted with IBM in July: “Innovation must be our gold star, plain and simple,” Schumer said at the event.

The conversation on AI is everywhere all at once: Today’s forum on the Hill included several leading investors and startup founders, including Evan Smith, founder and CEO of NYC-based Altana AI. But local New York officials are also having their own conversations:

  • A citywide AI Action Plan announced by Mayor Eric Adams last week outlines 37 initiatives designed to optimize city government’s use of AI tools, as well as to build public transparency measures and develop AI skills across city agencies. 

  • On the same day, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new $20 million investment from IBM to support a new SUNY AI Research Group tasked with crafting recommendations on the responsible development of AI tools.  

The tech is already here: At an event we co-hosted with IBM during #NYTechWeek last week, IBM’s SVP of Software Rob Thomas said: "I believe every company in the world is going to use generative AI for some type of customer service, which is happening pretty significantly today."

  • That’s true of city government too: NYC is already using more than 30 algorithmic tech tools to analyze crime patterns, track foodborne illness outbreaks, and yes, to help Mayor Adams make phone calls promoting job fairs and community events in Yiddish, Spanish, and Mandarin in his own voice.

“So much of what holds government up, particularly in a city the size of New York, is the scale at which it needs to operate,” our president Julie Samuels recently told Bloomberg. “That is exactly the kind of problem that AI is situated to best help: getting more people more benefits more quickly, for instance.”

Dive deeper: A new City & State report features Q&As with both industry and public sector leaders on the opportunities – and the risks – of AI for everyday New Yorkers.

In other reading:

  • Lerer Hippeau Managing Partner Ben Lerer on New York’s Tech Scene (Bloomberg)

  • Meta’s former director of remote work is leading one of the world’s biggest flexible work programs (Fast Company)

  • You can now call an Uber for hot air balloon rides in Cappadocia, Turkey (Forbes)

  • Aleph, a NYC-based financial data repository, raised $16.7 million in new funding. Bain Capital Ventures led the round and was joined by insiders Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and Picus Capital.

  • Prism Data, a NYC-based B2B data analytics platform, raised $5 million in seed funding. Obvious Ventures led the round and was joined by Citi Impact Fund and Core Innovation Capital.

  • October 26: In-person and virtual: Child Privacy Laws and the Internet: Impacts of Vulnerable Communities, with Ali Forney Center director of technical assistance and advocacy Nadia Swanson, New Pride Agenda executive director Elisa Crespo, Techdirt editor Mike Masnick, and others. Hosted by the Information Law Institute at NYU School of Law. Register here.

  • October 26: In-person: Lattice Treats Truck Pop-up @ Madison Square Park, with treats, swag, and information on how to achieve top performance and culture with Lattice HRIS and Talent Suite. Register here.

  • October 26: Virtual: Workplace Summit 2023, with Lattice chief people officer Cara Allamano, Adobe global head of talent development Brandon Clark, Accenture chief AI officer Lan Guan, and others. Hosted by Charter. Register here.

  • November 1: Virtual: Measuring the ROI of Talent, with LLR Partners director of human capital Melanie Blaine. Hoisted by Getro. Register here.

  • November 6: In-person: Entrepreneurs Roundtable #183, with Work-Bench co-founder and general partner Jonathan Lehr. Hosted by ERA. Register here.  

  • November 14 – 15: 2023 Urban Tech Summit, with NYC chief climate officer Rit Aggarwala, Kelvin CEO Marshall Cox, Brooklyn Navy Yard CEO Lindsay Greene, Near Space Labs CEO Rema Matevosyan, and others. Hosted by Cornell Tech. Register here.

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