Politics
Could a Contest Lure More A.I. Companies Here?
A report suggests a competition where the prize is a multimillion-dollar city contract.
Good morning. It’s Wednesday. Today we’ll look at a policy center’s recommendations for ways the city could harness artificial intelligence. We’ll also get details on the wildfire on the border between New York and New Jersey — and the gusting winds that could drive smoke toward New York City.
Credit…Spencer Platt/Getty Images
People are talking about artificial intelligence. The Center for an Urban Future says City Hall should do something about it, by offering city contracts to “high-potential A.I. companies” with the technology “to make New York a more livable city.”
A report by the center says that New York City already has more than 270 start-ups that “are powered by or innovating with” A.I. or machine learning. The city has attracted 20 percent of A.I. venture capital investment, making New York second only to San Francisco, with 40 percent.
But New York appears to lead in job postings: The report said that there were just under 14,500 postings for candidates with A.I.-focused skills in the five boroughs from July 2023 to July 2024, while San Francisco had over 9,000 in the same period.
The report also noted that San Francisco-based Open AI had announced plans for a New York office, adding to “the already-significant presence” of A.I. research teams at the New York outposts of companies like Google and Meta.
