Tech:NYC Digest: September 20

Tech:NYC Digest: September 20

September 20, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

In today’s digest, expanding voting access in New York, new covid tests for all, a cricket stadium for none (in NYC, at least), and AI in higher education.

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  • 🦠 The federal government is set to reopen a program sending free COVID tests via the mail. Many Americans haven’t had access to free tests since the end of the COVID emergency earlier this year. (Axios)

  • 🗽 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law legislation that will dramatically expand voting access by allowing any registered voter to cast an early ballot by mail. (Times Union) The legislative package, which Tech:NYC supported, also:

    • expands access to same-day voter registration

    • requires officials at prisons to provide voting rights information to people when they are released from incarceration

    • creates a penalty if an electoral college "elector" votes against the will of the people, which Hochul positioned as a response to alleged actions taken by Trump and his supporters in 2020.

    • One thing to watch: Republican leaders, who filed a lawsuit to stop the action which they call "unconstitutional." 

  • 🏏 Mayor Adams’ bid for a new cricket stadium in the Bronx was ultimately rejected, with Long Island emerging as the winner with plans for it to host part of the 2024 T20 World Cup. (NYT) 

  • 😬 At UNGA’s Climate Ambition Summit, the US was notably absent. (NYT) 

    • The only US representative invited to the summit, which took place on the sidelines of the General Assembly, was Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

      • His speech called out fossil fuel producers and Big Oil companies for their role in the climate crisis.

In other reading

:

  • 🚮 All businesses must containerize trash as Adams expands rule. (Crains)

  • 🎹 Things are getting swanky at Newark Liberty International Airport – the airport is building a jazz bar and piano lounge inside its new American Express Centurion Lounge, set to open in 2026. (TimeOut)

  • 🎟️ The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is free of entry, courtesy of Amazon, tomorrow Thursday, September 21 from 2-5pm. Additional dates are: 9/28, 10/5, 10/12 (BK Reader)

AI’s latest accomplishment? Boosting the senior graduation rate at John Jay College from 54 percent to 86 percent — in just two years.That’s what happened when DataKind, a global nonprofit, teamed up with John Jay College to develop predictive AI software to help academic advisors better identify students in need of additional support and help them stay on track towards graduation.The software assigns each student a “support score” based on grades, course loads, and demographic and other variables. Academic advisors then use the score to help determine the level of support each student needs, including one-on-one coaching for students who may need additional help.One thing is clear: the AI software does not replace the work of academic advisors.

  • Dara Byrne, who served as the associate provost of John Jay College while the software was first implemented, told the New York Times: “The A.I. cannot tell us about the student experience and cannot present strategies. That’s still always going to be the role of the academic advisers.”

  • Dana Prieto, an academic advisor at John Jay, said the data generated by the AI software “gives me a better connection to our students.”

The success of John Jay’s AI software is a good use case for educational institutions, companies and other organizations looking to use AI to complement or enhance the work of their existing employees.More students stand to benefit: Thanks to a roughly $500,000 grant from Google.org, 6 additional CUNY campuses will soon have access to the software. Read more here. In other reading:

  • 🎒More on education and AI: generative AI in classrooms. (GovTech)

  • 🥯Yesterday, a judge ruled that DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats can sue the city over a law capping how much they can charge restaurants for delivering meals. (Reuters)

  • Briya, a New York City-based healthcare data exchange platform, raised $11.5 million in Series A funding. Team8 led the round and was joined by Insight Partners, Amiti Ventures, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

  • HealNow, a New York-based pharmacy payments facilitator, raised $5.5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Bonfire Ventures led, and was joined by Walkabout Ventures, Remarkable Ventures, Alabama Futures Fund and Impulsum Ventures. (Axios)

  • Darrow, a New York City-based AI-powered platform that analyzes legal data to curate information and determine the financial value of a case, raised $25 million in Series B funding. Georgian led the round and was joined by F2, Entrée Capital, and NFX.

  • September 21: In-person: New Climate Futures, with Revel CEO Frank Reig, Brooklyn Navy Yard CEO Lindsay Greene, Activate co-founder Matt Price, and more. Hosted by Newlab. Register here.

  • September 29: In-person: AcceleratorCON 2023, with The Muse founder Kathryn Minshew, Remarkable Ventures managing partner Murat Aktihanoglu, Founders Village CEO Yasmeen Butt, and others. Use code “AC23013%” for 30% off tickets by registering here.

  • October 4: In-person: How to Go From $1M ARR to $10M, with Help Scout chief revenue officer Andrea Kayal and Innovatemap principal product marketer and brand strategist Meghan Pfeifer. Hosted by Innovatemap. Register here.

  • October 11: In-person: 2023 Tech Summit, featuring CLEAR CEO Caryn Seidman Becker, Esusu Co-CEO Wemimo Abbey, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and others. Hosted by Tech:NYC and Crain’s New York Business. Register here.

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