New York is launching an independent artificial intelligence research center at Binghamton University, bringing together more than 80 scientists to test advanced AI systems and study how to make them safer.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the New York Center for AI Responsibility and Research on Tuesday. The statewide network will connect researchers at their home institutions, with support from the state’s Empire AI computing initiative.
Researchers will test advanced AI systems
The center, known as NYCAIRR, will independently evaluate the safety, security and operation of the most advanced AI models. Its work will include developing tools, measurements and standards that can help researchers and policymakers assess those systems.
Greg Morrisett, dean and vice provost of Cornell Tech, and Jeannette Wing, Columbia University’s executive vice president for research, will serve as interim co-directors.
The state plans a national recruiting effort across several areas of AI research. Those include the mathematical foundations and limits of AI, methods for formally verifying systems, and the behavior of complex systems that can act on their own.
Other areas include hardware security and privacy, understanding how models work and aligning their behavior with intended goals, and the use of AI for scientific research and biosecurity.
The center will also pursue scientific applications in fields such as medicine and infrastructure, help train future researchers and provide objective evidence for public policy decisions.
Computing access and earlier investments support the center
NYCAIRR will draw on Empire AI, New York’s $500 million public-private initiative to expand access to advanced computing for research. Scientists participating in the new center will remain based at institutions around the state.
The center was first announced in January with $30 million in philanthropic support from donors led by Tom Secunda, a Binghamton alumnus and Bloomberg co-founder. An initial $25 million SUNY research investment and state operating and capital support also back the effort.
Hochul framed independent testing as necessary to evaluate the promises and risks of increasingly capable systems.
“The stakes are too high to simply take AI companies at their word,” Hochul said.
New state reporting requirements begin in January
The launch comes as New York prepares to implement its Responsible AI Safety and Education Act, known as the RAISE Act. The state’s Office of Digital Innovation, Governance, Integrity and Trust, or DIGIT, is opening a registration portal for large frontier AI developers ahead of a Jan. 1, 2027, deadline.
Beginning in January, large frontier developers must publish safety frameworks. Frontier developers covered by the law must report critical incidents and publish model transparency information. The law requires critical incidents to be reported within 72 hours.
At the state’s request, NYCAIRR will work with DIGIT to review published safety frameworks and recommend stronger requirements where needed. That connects the center’s technical research with the state’s oversight of advanced models.
Hochul also said she would explore additional protections in the coming months. Those possible measures are separate from the reporting and transparency requirements already set to begin in January.
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