Protecting Workers, Small Businesses & Digital Rights in the Age of AI

New York City thrives because of its workers, small businesses, and diverse communities—but as AI and automation reshape industries, we need strong policies to protect jobs, prevent exploitation, defend digital rights, fight discrimination, regulate AI surveillance, hold corporations accountable, and keep our city affordable for everyone.

AI should be a tool that improves work and city services, not a way for corporations or government agencies to replace workers, invade privacy, or increase inequality.

If we don’t act now, automation will lead to higher unemployment, small business closures, greater surveillance, and widening inequality.

AI, Economic Justice & Worker Protections

✅ Expand NYC’s AI Hiring Transparency Law – NYC’s Local Law 144 requires companies using AI in hiring to disclose and audit their algorithms, but it doesn’t go far enough. We must strengthen enforcement, close loopholes, and expand protections to cover AI-driven layoffs and promotions.

✅ Job Protections & Retraining – Workers at risk of AI-driven job loss deserve access to retraining programs, fair transition support, and protections—not sudden unemployment. NYC should expand programs like the Workforce Development Fund to focus on AI-related job displacement.

✅ No AI-Powered Mass Layoffs – Employers shouldn’t be allowed to cut entire workforces overnight without a just transition plan. Companies that replace workers with AI should be required to provide severance, transition training, or reemployment support.

✅ Corporate Responsibility for AI Displacement – Large corporations using AI to replace workers should contribute to retraining programs, severance protections, and wage insurance for affected employees. Similar to NYC’s efforts to hold companies accountable for gig worker protections, we must ensure automation doesn’t come at the cost of human livelihoods.

✅ Support for Small Businesses Competing with AI – Many small businesses can’t afford AI-driven automation like major corporations can. We need policies that level the playing field, prevent unfair competition, and provide grants or incentives to help small businesses adopt ethical AI practices.

✅ Fair Wages, Union Rights & Worker Organizing – Workers must have the right to unionize and collectively bargain in industries affected by automation. AI should not be used as a tool to undermine fair wages, workplace protections, or worker organizing efforts. NYC must protect and expand laws like the Just Cause Worker Protection Act to include AI-driven layoffs.

✅ Protect Against AI-Driven Discrimination – AI in hiring and employment decisions often reinforces bias, disproportionately harming marginalized communities. We must strengthen NYC’s Human Rights Law to ensure AI doesn’t become a tool for racial, gender, or disability-based discrimination in hiring, promotions, or layoffs.

AI, Privacy & Digital Rights

✅ Ban AI-Powered Workplace Surveillance – NYC must expand protections for workers subject to constant AI surveillance, including in warehouses, gig work, and corporate offices. AI should not be used to track bathroom breaks, micromanage productivity, or punish workers through automated systems.

✅ Regulate AI in Public Spaces – AI-powered surveillance, including facial recognition and predictive policing, must be strictly regulated to prevent racial profiling, over-policing, and violations of civil liberties. NYC should pass laws similar to San Francisco’s ban on facial recognition technology in policing.

✅ No AI Displacing Human Decision-Making in Critical Services – From housing applications to social services, AI should not replace human judgment in life-altering decisions. NYC must expand oversight on automated decision-making in public benefits programs.

✅ Protect NYC Residents from AI-Driven Data Exploitation – AI systems collecting personal data must be held to strict privacy standards to prevent abuse and misuse. NYC should create a Digital Privacy Bill of Rights to protect residents from AI-driven surveillance and data selling.

✅ Public Oversight of AI in NYC – AI systems used by businesses and city agencies must be subject to public scrutiny to prevent bias, abuse, and harm to vulnerable communities. NYC should create a Citywide AI Accountability Task Force to monitor and regulate AI use.

✅ Digital Equity for All – We must ensure access to affordable broadband, protect against algorithmic discrimination, and bridge the digital divide so no one is left behind in the AI-driven economy. NYC should expand municipal broadband programs to ensure universal internet access.

Economic Justice & A Fairer NYC

✅ Affordable Housing & Worker Protections Go Hand-in-Hand – When people lose stable jobs, they also face rising rents, eviction threats, and financial insecurity. We need policies that keep workers housed and protected.

✅ Tax Big Tech & AI Profiteers – Tech companies benefiting from automation should contribute to public programs, including job training, affordable housing, and digital equity initiatives. Similar to NYC’s push for higher taxes on billionaires, we must ensure corporations profiting from AI don’t leave workers behind.

✅ AI Should Work for People, Not Against Them – AI and automation should be tools for creating opportunities, not eliminating them. We need regulations that prioritize human well-being over corporate profits.

Let’s Build a Fair, Just, and People-First AI Future

NYC has the power to lead the way in ethical AI regulation, protect workers and small businesses, and defend digital rights. I will fight to ensure that automation and AI work for us—not against us.