Launched in October 2023, MyCity, New York City’s first citywide AI chatbot, promised to save entrepreneurs “time and money” by instantly answering questions, including questions about compliance with city regulations. .
But now, six months and more than $600,000 later, the bot, although still in beta, is widely used and reportedly supports the city’s minimum wage, employers tipped by workers. It says it’s spewing out wrong answers to key questions, such as whether companies can receive the information they receive and whether companies need to communicate it. Staff regarding schedule changes, markup.
Business owners who used chatbots and failed to fact-check answers could be in trouble if they followed the chatbot’s advice.
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However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams defends AI chatbots. Reuters It was reported on Thursday.
Adams defended the experimental nature of the chatbot this week, telling the outlet that it was “wrong in some areas and needs to be fixed.”
“Anytime you use technology, you have to put it into a real world environment and solve problems,” Adams said.
when entrepreneur When we tested the chatbot on Friday, we found that the answers to some questions had been modified. markupThis is your question. But when I asked MyCity’s chatbot what the minimum wage is in New York City, it told me it was $15 an hour.
The correct answer is $16 per hour.
The chatbot was unable to tell management the correct minimum wage to pay their employees.Photo credit: Entrepreneur
The bot also stated that “store owners in New York City must accept cash,” even though New York City’s Consumer and Worker Protection Policy states that “stores must accept cash starting November 19, 2020.” “Replying is permitted,” he wrote. Additional fees cannot be charged for cash payments. ”
Question from entrepreneur It also produced inaccurate results, particularly regarding new policy changes in New York City that took effect this year.
For example, if we When asked if businesses were required to post the total price of an item, including credit card surcharges, before checkout, the chatbot incorrectly answered “no.” The correct answer is yes, thanks to a law that took effect in February.
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A disclaimer at the bottom of the page warns that the chatbot’s responses may be “inaccurate or incomplete.”
Still, the MyCity chatbot plays a central role on the NYC Business homepage as a way to “quickly find information about the city’s many business services.”
Adams said in October that the bot would allow business owners to more easily access “authoritative information” from 2,000 NYC Business web pages. According to ABC, the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation has spent more than $500,000 ($600,000) on building the foundation for his AI.
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