New York Governor Kathy Hochul might have just signed a moratorium on new AI data centers in the state, but she’s not against using the technology herself. During an interview with Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, Hochul said that her team is using “AI to analyze every single rule, regulation, [and] policy” to check for outdated legislation.
Some of the antiquated laws mentioned by Hochul in the interview include a $25 fee required to take a dog hunting, or a stipulation that pregnant people need a permit to work after midnight. Hochul added that it “probably would have taken five years at the staff level” to review all of the laws in the state, but with AI, her team “did it in a couple of months.” This will allow Hochul and state agencies “to get rid of” these outdated regulations, she said.
Earlier this week, New York became the first state to put a pause on new hyperscale data centers for up to a year. In the meantime, state lawmakers plan to come up with regulations to protect residents from the rising utility costs and the threat to natural resources posed by massive data centers.
“I want a government that’s not on your back but on your side, and using AI has been powerful to do that,” Hochul told Bloomberg. “I think every level of government should use this… I’m going to make dramatic changes using the power of AI.”