New York governor deploys AI to identify and eliminate outdated state laws

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is embracing artificial intelligence for government modernization, even as she moved to restrict AI data centers in the state. In a recent interview with Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast, Hochul revealed that her administration is using AI to systematically review every state rule, regulation, and policy to identify laws that no longer serve a purpose.

How the AI audit accelerated the process#

The governor highlighted the speed advantage of the AI-driven approach. What would have required approximately five years of staff work to manually review the entire state legal code took her team just a couple of months to complete. This dramatic acceleration allows the state to move forward quickly with eliminating outdated requirements.

Examples of outdated laws identified#

The initiative has already surfaced some notably archaic regulations. Among the examples Hochul cited are a $25 fee for taking a dog hunting and a requirement that pregnant workers obtain a permit to work after midnight. These discoveries underscore how much legislative drift accumulates over decades without systematic review.

Hochul's broader AI strategy#

The governor framed AI adoption as fundamental to her governing philosophy. "I want a government that's not on your back but on your side, and using AI has been powerful to do that," she told Bloomberg. She called on governments at all levels to similarly harness the technology for modernization and promised to enact "dramatic changes using the power of AI."

This positions her administration as pragmatic about AI's potential benefits for government efficiency, even as New York became the first state to impose a pause on new hyperscale data centers to address environmental and utility cost concerns. The dual approach—restricting AI infrastructure while embracing AI tools for governance—reflects the state's attempt to balance innovation with caution.