As AI becomes ubiquitous, the public cannot afford another decade of secrecy, unreported harm, and unaccountable tech giants.

A coalition of leading youth advocates, public-interest groups, and technology accountability organizations released a joint letter urging Governor Kathy Hochul to sign New York’s Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act into law. The letter was organized by Design It For Us and Encode AI and joined by more than twenty organizations, including Common Sense Media, Common Cause, ParentsTogether Action, Rights4Girls, SAVE, #HalfTheStory, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Association.

New York is facing a pivotal moment. “Fifteen years ago, policymakers missed the warning signs with social media, and an entire generation is still paying the price,” the organizations write. “As AI becomes embedded into the services young people use, we have a narrow window to put real safeguards in place.”

The RAISE Act establishes basic transparency and safety requirements for the largest AI developers, including publishing safety and security protocols, reporting serious safety incidents to the Attorney General, and enabling enforcement through existing state authorities. The bill closely follows—and in key ways strengthens—the landmark AI safety framework California signed into law earlier this year.

The RAISE Act would introduce three core transparency requirements for the companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars to train foundation models:

  • Publishing and following safety and security protocols that address catastrophic risks such as biological weapon development or automated criminal activity;
  • Reporting serious safety incidents to the Attorney General so policymakers and the public are not kept in the dark;
  • Enabling enforcement through the Attorney General without creating a new state agency.

“California showed that states can lead on AI safety,” said Zamaan Qureshi, Co-Chair of Design It For Us. “Now New York can go even further by requiring real transparency from the companies building the most powerful AI systems. Young people deserve a future where AI safety isn’t an afterthought.”

“After a decade of Congressional inaction on social media, Governor Hochul led the way in protecting young people online with legislation like the SAFE4KIDS Act,” said Adam Billen, VP of Public Policy at Encode AI. “Now, with the RAISE Act, she has the chance to get ahead of serious risks from AI instead of waiting until they’re already here.”

The full letter and list of signatories are included here. 

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About Design It For Us

Design It For Us is a youth-led coalition of young people, activists, and leaders that aims to achieve policy reforms to protect kids, teens, and young adults online. The coalition is led by two Co-Chairs and a team of Program Leads between the ages of 18 and 26. The coalition is also supported by an array of youth-led organizations, staff, and advisors.