Enacts the New York artificial intelligence bill of rights to provide residents of the state with rights and protections to ensure that any system making decisions without human intervention impacting their lives do so lawfully, properly, and with meaningful oversight.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8129
SPONSOR: Vanel TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the state technology law, in relation to enacting the
New York artificial intelligence bill of rights
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Enacts the New York artificial intelligence bill of rights.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
§ 401: Sets forth key terms.
§ 402: States that the rights within this article apply to New York
residents and govern developers of systems impacting civil rights,
liberties, privacy, opportunities, and essential services.
§ 403: Explains that the rights in this article should be interpreted
as a whole, and not exclusive of one another.
§ 404: Right to safe and effective systems
§ 405: Right to not face algorithmic discrimination
§ 406: Right to not face abusive data practices; Right to have agency
over one's data
§ 407: Right to know when an automated system is being used; Right to
understand how any why an automated system contributed to outcomes that
impacted a person
§ 408: Right to opt out of an automated system; Right to work with a
human in the place of an automated system.
§ 409: Provides that operators of systems who violate any of the
rights may be liable to the people of the state for a penalty not less
than three times such damages caused. Provides that there by no private
cause of action arising out of the provisions of this section.
JUSTIFICATION:
Systems which use artificial intelligence to make automated decisions
are widely used today. However, the capabilities of such systems are
limited in that they are unable to use a human level thought process to
make these decisions. However, over the next few years, we can expect
these systems to further increase in their abilities and even more
complex decisions with a human level of deliberation. As a consequence,
we are heading into a future where many important decisions, such as
ones which affect a person's livelihood and freedom, and societies'
liberties and democracy will be made by machines with little human
input. While these machines have the ability to be more efficient and
more objective than any human, we must still recognize the legitimate
concerns that can be raised in the realms of fairness, transparency, and
accountability.
As such, we must ensure that people are protected from private companies
and government entities who create systems that make automated decisions
that affect people's lives. As such, it is necessary to safeguard these
rights through a New York state artificial intelligence bill of rights.
This Bill of Rights is modeled after the White House Office of Science
and Technology's white paper called "A Blueprint for an AI Bill of
Rights."
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
LBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth date after it shall have
become law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8129
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
October 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Science and Technology
AN ACT to amend the state technology law, in relation to enacting the
New York artificial intelligence bill of rights
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York artificial intelligence bill of rights".
3 § 2. Legislative intent. This legislature hereby finds that this
4 generation of humans is the first in history to have the ability to
5 create technologies that can make decisions which previously could have
6 only been made by humans. States and countries across the world are
7 grappling with critical questions of how we can use these technologies
8 to solve our problems, how we can avoid or manage the new problems that
9 these technologies may create, and how we can control these powerful
10 technologies.
11 Therefore, the legislature declares that any New York resident
12 affected by any system making decisions without human intervention be
13 entitled to certain rights and protections to ensure that the system
14 impacting their lives do so lawfully, properly, and with meaningful
15 oversight.
16 Among these rights and protections are (i) the right to safe and
17 effective systems; (ii) protections against algorithmic discrimination;
18 (iii) protections against abusive data practices; (iv) the right to have
19 agency over one's data; (v) the right to know when an automated system
20 is being used; (vi) the right to understand how and why an automated
21 system contributed to outcomes that impact one; (vii) the right to opt
22 out of an automated system; and (viii) the right to work with a human in
23 the place of an automated system.
24 The legislature also finds that automated systems will continue to be
25 developed and evolve both within the state and outside the state. It is
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13117-01-3
A. 8129 2
1 therefore critical that New York does not overburden the development of
2 innovative systems that better the state and its residents, nor drive
3 the development of such systems to foreign states or countries with less
4 appropriate regulation, nor threaten the security of our state, country,
5 and its people.
6 To these ends, the legislature declares that the white paper published
7 by the White House Office of Science and Technology titled "Blueprint
8 for an AI Bill of Rights" in October of 2022 is commensurate with the
9 goals of this state in relation to artificial intelligence.
10 § 3. The state technology law is amended by adding a new article IV to
11 read as follows:
12 ARTICLE IV
13 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BILL OF RIGHTS
14 Section 401. Definitions.
15 402. Application.
16 403. Construction.
17 404. Safe and effective systems.
18 405. Algorithmic discrimination practices.
19 406. Data privacy.
20 407. Notice and explanation.
21 408. Human alternatives, consideration, and fallback.
22 409. Penalties; no private cause of action.
23 § 401. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
24 have the following meanings:
25 1. "Civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy" or "rights, opportu-
26 nity, and access" means such rights and protections provided for in the
27 United States Constitution, federal law, the laws and constitution of
28 the state of New York, and privacy and other freedoms that exist in both
29 the public and private sector contexts, which shall include, but shall
30 not be limited to:
31 (a) freedom of speech;
32 (b) voting rights;
33 (c) protections from discrimination;
34 (d) protections from excessive or unjust punishment; and
35 (e) protections from unlawful surveillance.
36 2. "Equal opportunity" means equal access to education, housing, cred-
37 it, employment, and other programs.
38 3. "Access to critical resources or services" means such resources and
39 services that are fundamental for the well-being, security, and equita-
40 ble participation of New York residents in society, which shall include,
41 but shall not be limited to:
42 (a) healthcare;
43 (b) financial services;
44 (c) safety;
45 (d) social services;
46 (e) non-deceptive information about goods and services; and
47 (f) government benefits.
48 4. "Algorithmic discrimination" means circumstances where an automated
49 system contributes to an unjustified different treatment or impact which
50 disfavors people based on their age, color, creed, disability, domestic
51 violence victim status, gender identity or expression, familial status,
52 marital status, military status, national origin, predisposing genetic
53 characteristics, pregnancy-related condition, prior arrest or conviction
54 record, race, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status or any other
55 classification protected by law.
A. 8129 3
1 5. "Automated system" means any system, software, or process that
2 affects New York residents and that uses computation as a whole or part
3 of a system to determine outcomes, make or aid decisions, inform policy
4 implementation, collect data or observations, or otherwise interact with
5 New York residents or communities. Automated systems shall include, but
6 not be limited to, systems derived from machine learning, statistics, or
7 other data processing or artificial intelligence techniques, and shall
8 exclude passive computing infrastructure.
9 6. "Passive computing infrastructure" shall include any intermediary
10 technology that does not influence or determine the outcome of deci-
11 sions, make or aid in decisions, inform policy implementation, or
12 collect data or observations, including web hosting, domain registra-
13 tion, networking, caching, data storage, or cybersecurity.
14 7. "Communities" means neighborhoods, social network connections,
15 families, people connected by affinity, identity, or shared traits and
16 formal organizational ties. This includes Tribes, Clans, Bands, Ranche-
17 rias, Villages, and other Indigenous communities.
18 8. "Social network" means any connection of persons which exists
19 online or offline.
20 9. "Families" means any relationship, whether by blood, choice, or
21 otherwise, where one or more persons assume a caregiver role, primary or
22 shared, for one or more others, or where individuals mutually support
23 and are committed to each other's well-being.
24 10. "Equity" means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and
25 impartial treatment of all New York residents. Systemic, fair, and just
26 treatment shall take into account the status of New York residents who
27 belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment,
28 such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian
29 Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of
30 religious minorities; women, girls, and non-binary people; lesbian, gay,
31 bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons; older adults;
32 persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons
33 otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.
34 11. "Sensitive data" means any data and metadata:
35 (a) that pertains to a New York resident in a sensitive domain;
36 (b) that are generated by technologies in a sensitive domain;
37 (c) that can be used to infer data from a sensitive domain;
38 (d) about a New York resident, such as disability-related data, genom-
39 ic data, biometric data, behavioral data, geolocation data, data related
40 to the criminal justice system, relationship history, or legal status
41 such as custody and divorce information, and home, work, or school envi-
42 ronmental data;
43 (e) that has the reasonable potential to be used in ways that are
44 likely to expose New York residents to meaningful harm, such as a loss
45 of privacy or financial harm due to identity theft; or
46 (f) that is generated by a person under the age of eighteen.
47 12. "Sensitive domain" means a particular area, field, or sphere of
48 activity in which activities being conducted can cause material harms,
49 including significant adverse effects on human rights such as autonomy
50 and dignity, as well as civil liberties and civil rights.
51 13. "Surveillance technology" means products or services marketed for
52 or that can be lawfully used to detect, monitor, intercept, collect,
53 exploit, preserve, protect, transmit, or retain data, identifying infor-
54 mation, or communications concerning New York residents or groups.
A. 8129 4
1 14. "Underserved communities" means communities that have been system-
2 atically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of econom-
3 ic, social, and civic life.
4 § 402. Application. The rights contained within this article shall be
5 construed as applying to New York residents against persons developing
6 automated systems that have the potential to meaningfully impact New
7 York residents':
8 1. civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy;
9 2. equal opportunities; or
10 3. access to critical resources or services.
11 § 403. Construction. The rights contained within this article shall be
12 construed as harmonious and mutually supportive.
13 § 404. Safe and effective systems. 1. New York residents have the
14 right to be protected from unsafe or ineffective automated systems.
15 These systems must be developed in collaboration with diverse communi-
16 ties, stakeholders, and domain experts to identify and address any
17 potential concerns, risks, or impacts.
18 2. Automated systems shall undergo pre-deployment testing, risk iden-
19 tification and mitigation, and shall also be subjected to ongoing moni-
20 toring that demonstrates they are safe and effective based on their
21 intended use, mitigation of unsafe outcomes including those beyond the
22 intended use, and adherence to domain-specific standards.
23 3. If an automated system fails to meet the requirements of this
24 section, it shall not be deployed or, if already in use, shall be
25 removed. No automated system shall be designed with the intent or a
26 reasonably foreseeable possibility of endangering the safety of any New
27 York resident or New York communities.
28 4. Automated systems shall be designed to proactively protect New York
29 residents from harm stemming from unintended, yet foreseeable, uses or
30 impacts.
31 5. New York residents are entitled to protection from inappropriate or
32 irrelevant data use in the design, development, and deployment of auto-
33 mated systems, and from the compounded harm of its reuse.
34 6. Independent evaluation and reporting that confirms that the system
35 is safe and effective, including reporting of steps taken to mitigate
36 potential harms, shall be performed and the results made public whenever
37 possible.
38 § 405. Algorithmic discrimination practices. 1. No New York resident
39 shall face discrimination by algorithms, and all automated systems shall
40 be used and designed in an equitable manner.
41 2. The designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems shall
42 take proactive and continuous measures to protect New York residents and
43 communities from algorithmic discrimination, ensuring the use and design
44 of these systems in an equitable manner.
45 3. The protective measures required by this section shall include
46 proactive equity assessments as part of the system design, use of repre-
47 sentative data, protection against proxies for demographic features, and
48 assurance of accessibility for New York residents with disabilities in
49 design and development.
50 4. Automated systems shall undergo pre-deployment and ongoing dispari-
51 ty testing and mitigation, under clear organizational oversight.
52 5. Independent evaluations and plain language reporting in the form of
53 an algorithmic impact assessment, including disparity testing results
54 and mitigation information, shall be conducted for all automated
55 systems.
A. 8129 5
1 6. New York residents shall have the right to view such evaluations
2 and reports.
3 § 406. Data privacy. 1. New York residents shall be protected from
4 abusive data practices via built-in protections and shall maintain agen-
5 cy over the use of their personal data.
6 2. Privacy violations shall be mitigated through design choices that
7 include privacy protections by default, ensuring that data collection
8 conforms to reasonable expectations and that only strictly necessary
9 data for the specific context is collected.
10 3. Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems must seek
11 and respect the decisions of New York residents regarding the
12 collection, use, access, transfer, and deletion of their data in all
13 appropriate ways and to the fullest extent possible. Where not possible,
14 alternative privacy by design safeguards must be implemented.
15 4. Automated systems shall not employ user experience or design deci-
16 sions that obscure user choice or burden users with default settings
17 that are privacy-invasive.
18 5. Consent shall be used to justify the collection of data only in
19 instances where it can be appropriately and meaningfully given. Any
20 consent requests shall be brief, understandable in plain language, and
21 provide New York residents with agency over data collection and its
22 specific context of use.
23 6. Any existing practice of complex notice-and-choice for broad data
24 use shall be transformed, emphasizing clarity and user comprehension.
25 7. Enhanced protections and restrictions shall be established for data
26 and inferences related to sensitive domains. In sensitive domains, indi-
27 vidual data and related inferences may only be used for necessary func-
28 tions, safeguarded by ethical review and use prohibitions.
29 8. New York residents and New York communities shall be free from
30 unchecked surveillance; surveillance technologies shall be subject to
31 heightened oversight, including at least pre-deployment assessment of
32 their potential harms and scope limits to protect privacy and civil
33 liberties.
34 9. Continuous surveillance and monitoring shall not be used in educa-
35 tion, work, housing, or any other contexts where the use of such
36 surveillance technologies is likely to limit rights, opportunities, or
37 access.
38 10. Whenever possible, New York residents shall have access to report-
39 ing that confirms respect for their data decisions and provides an
40 assessment of the potential impact of surveillance technologies on their
41 rights, opportunities, or access.
42 § 407. Notice and explanation. 1. New York residents shall be informed
43 when an automated system is in use and New York residents shall be
44 informed how and why the system contributes to outcomes that impact
45 them.
46 2. Designers, developers, and deployers of automated systems shall
47 provide accessible plain language documentation, including clear
48 descriptions of the overall system functioning, the role of automation,
49 notice of system use, identification of the individual or organization
50 responsible for the system, and clear, timely, and accessible explana-
51 tions of outcomes.
52 3. The provided notice shall be kept up-to-date, and New York resi-
53 dents impacted by the system shall be notified of any significant chang-
54 es to use cases or key functionalities.
A. 8129 6
1 4. New York residents shall have the right to understand how and why
2 an outcome impacting them was determined by an automated system, even
3 when the automated system is not the sole determinant of the outcome.
4 5. Automated systems shall provide explanations that are technically
5 valid, meaningful to the individual and any other persons who need to
6 understand the system and proportionate to the level of risk based on
7 the context.
8 6. Summary reporting, including plain language information about these
9 automated systems and assessments of the clarity and quality of notice
10 and explanations, shall be made public whenever possible.
11 § 408. Human alternatives, consideration, and fallback. 1. New York
12 residents shall have the right to opt out of automated systems, where
13 appropriate, in favor of a human alternative. The appropriateness of
14 such an option shall be determined based on reasonable expectations in a
15 given context, with a focus on ensuring broad accessibility and protect-
16 ing the public from particularly harmful impacts. In some instances, a
17 human or other alternative may be mandated by law.
18 2. New York residents shall have access to a timely human consider-
19 ation and remedy through a fallback and escalation process if an auto-
20 mated system fails, produces an error, or if they wish to appeal or
21 contest its impacts on them.
22 3. The human consideration and fallback process shall be accessible,
23 equitable, effective, maintained, accompanied by appropriate operator
24 training, and should not impose an unreasonable burden on the public.
25 4. Automated systems intended for use within sensitive domains,
26 including but not limited to criminal justice, employment, education,
27 and health, shall additionally be tailored to their purpose, provide
28 meaningful access for oversight, include training for New York residents
29 interacting with the system, and incorporate human consideration for
30 adverse or high-risk decisions.
31 5. Summary reporting, which includes a description of such human
32 governance processes and an assessment of their timeliness, accessibil-
33 ity, outcomes, and effectiveness, shall be made publicly available when-
34 ever possible.
35 § 409. Penalties; no private cause of action. 1. Where an operator of
36 an automated system violates or causes a violation of any of the rights
37 stated within this article, such operator shall be liable to the people
38 of this state for a penalty not less than three times such damages
39 caused.
40 2. The penalty provided for in subdivision one of this section may be
41 recovered by an action brought by the attorney general in any court of
42 competent jurisdiction.
43 3. Nothing set forth in this article shall be construed as creating,
44 establishing, or authorizing a private cause of action by an aggrieved
45 person against an operator of an automated system who has violated, or
46 is alleged to have violated, any provision of this article.
47 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
48 have become a law.
