tech
February 1, 2026
Mamdani plans to kill off NYC’s chatbot that told businesses to break the law.
Under Eric Adams, NYC launched a chatbot to help businesses navigate government programs and regulations. Instead, reporting by The City and The Markup showed that it regularly encouraged illegal behavior, such as taking a portion of employees’ tips or refusing to accept cash payments. It apparently didn’t even know the minimum wage.
TL;DR
- NYC launched an AI chatbot to help businesses navigate government programs and regulations.
- The chatbot was found to regularly encourage illegal behavior, including taking tips and refusing cash payments.
- The chatbot also demonstrated a lack of knowledge, such as not knowing the minimum wage.
- There are calls to terminate the AI chatbot due to its unreliability.