Hochul Uses AI to Audit Every NY State Rule in Months
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- Governor Kathy Hochul told Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast her team used AI to analyze 'every single rule, regulation, [and] policy' in New York state, completing the review in 'a couple of months' versus an estimated five years at the staff level.
- Hochul flagged specific antiquated laws uncovered by the AI review, including a $25 fee to take a dog hunting and a requirement that pregnant people obtain a permit to work after midnight, which she said would now be 'gotten rid of.'
- New York became the first state to pause new hyperscale data center construction for up to a year earlier this week, even as Hochul champions AI adoption inside government to cut outdated regulations.
- Hochul said AI has been 'powerful' for making government 'not on your back but on your side,' and argued 'every level of government should use this' as she pledged 'dramatic changes' powered by the technology.
- State lawmakers plan to use the data center moratorium period to draft regulations addressing rising utility costs and threats to natural resources from massive data facilities.
Why it matters: Hochul's AI-driven audit compressed a five-year regulatory review into months, with specific obsolete statutes already identified for removal — meaning New York ratepayers, employers, and residents could see outdated rules lifted faster than any prior manual sweep, even as the state simultaneously freezes new data center builds to manage utility and environmental costs.
