Hochul seeks to make NY a global leader in artificial intelligence

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday gathered industry leaders and advocates to celebrate a historic agreement with the Legislature to establish Empire AI, a first-of-its-kind consortium to secure New York’s place at the forefront of artificial intelligence research, as part of the FY 2025 Enacted Budget.

Hochul said the consortium will leverage a $275 million state investment to create and launch a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center on the University at Buffalo’s campus.

The center will be used by leading New York institutions to promote responsible research and development, create jobs and advance AI for the public good.

“Whoever dominates the AI industry will dominate the next chapter of history and we want New York to win the race for the future,” Gov. Hochul said. “Our Empire AI Consortium will position New York State at the forefront of this burgeoning industry for decades to come.

“Through this pioneering public-private partnership, we are fostering an ecosystem of innovation, research and growth that will drive countless new discoveries, launch new companies and products, and transform the way that New Yorkers live their lives for the better,” she added.

Hochul said access to the computing resources that power AI systems is prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain.

She said these resources are increasingly concentrated in the hands of large technology companies, who maintain outsized control of the AI development ecosystem.

“As a result, researchers, public interest organizations, and small companies are being left behind, which has enormous implications for AI safety and society at large,” the governor said. “Empire AI will bridge this gap and accelerate the development of AI centered in public interest for New York State. Enabling this pioneering AI research and development will also help educational institutions incubate the AI-focused technology startups of the future, driving job growth.”

Hochul said the Empire AI consortium will include seven New York-based founding institutions: Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the State University of New York, the City University of New York, and the Flatiron Institute.

“By increasing collaboration between New York State’s world-class research institutions, Empire AI will allow for efficiencies of scale not able to be achieved by any single university, empower and attract top notch faculty and expand educational opportunity, and give rise to a wave of responsible innovation that will significantly strengthen our state’s economy and our national security,” the governor said.

She said the initiative will be funded by over $400 million in public and private investment, including a $250 million State capital grant investment, and $25 million over 10 years in SUNY funding.

Hochul said the project will also receive more than $125 million from the founding institutions and other private partners, including the Simons Foundation, whose Flatiron Institute works to advance research through computational methods, and Tom Secunda, co-founder of Bloomberg LP and the Secunda Family Foundation, which provides millions of dollars a year in grants to conservation, health care, scientific advancement and other causes.

In addition, as part of the Budget, Gov. Hochul signed legislation to prioritize safe, ethical uses of AI as the state continues to build its AI footprint.

The legislation includes a requirement that all forms of political communication – including image, video, audio, text or any technological representation of speech or conduct – disclose the use of materially deceptive media.

Hochul said her commitment to advancing New York’s leadership in artificial intelligence builds on her broader agenda to expand cutting-edge technology development in the Empire State.

She recently announced that IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Girls Who Code CEO Dr. Tarika Barrett will co-chair the new Emerging Technology Advisory Board – an independent group of industry leaders tasked with informing and accelerating New York’s transformation into a hub for growth and innovation.

The governor previously signed New York’s historic Green CHIPS legislation to drive semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing in New York State and announced a $10 billion partnership to bring next-generation chips research to NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex.

Hochul said she has continued to advance a $620 million Life Science Initiative to support innovation in biomedical research.

Through strategic investments like the $113.7 million Battery-NY initiative, Hochul said she has fueled the growth of the sustainability, green technology, and energy storage economies in New York State.