NYC defends AI chatbot that told people to break laws [Video]

NEW YORK –

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is defending the city’s new artificial intelligence chatbot that has been caught in recent days giving business owners wrong answers or advice that, if followed, would entail breaking the law.

When launched as a pilot in October, the MyCity chatbot was touted as the first city-wide use of such AI technology, something that would give business owners “actionable and trusted information” in response to queries typed into an online portal.

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That has not always proved the case: journalists at the investigative outlet The Markup first reported last week that the chatbot was getting things wrong. It wrongly advised that employers could take a cut of their workers’ tips, and that there were no regulations requiring bosses give notice of employees’ schedule changes.

“It’s wrong in some areas, and we’ve got …