Mamdani criticizes federal AI regulation gap, urges New Yorkers to reject AI inevitability narrative

At the "People's AI Assembly" hosted by the AI Now Institute, New York City Mayor Mamdani spoke with activist Ilana Glazer. Mamdani said federal AI regulation is "completely absent" and criticized framing the debate as competition with China while avoiding humanistic concerns. He noted last month's federal AI policy mainly lets large AI companies self-regulate. Mamdani cited two city measures: last month's order banning AI in elementary and middle schools, and a summer policy requiring landlords, brokers and listing platforms to disclose whether listing photos or videos are AI-generated to prevent "real estate catfishing." He referenced a February U.S. military strike on an Iranian school, saying a Pentagon internal investigation found overreliance on AI targeting was a factor, and noted that with Anthropic going public this year and OpenAI claiming a 2027 listing, AI companies are trying to evade accountability. For companies operating edtech and real estate platforms in New York, disclosure and ban requirements already constitute direct compliance costs.