Statement of Support for New York's RAISE Act
Beth Rudden, CEO, Bast AI
My name is Beth Rudden, and I am writing in my capacity as CEO of Bast AI to express my strong support for New York's Responsible AI Safety and Education (RAISE) Act1. The views expressed here are my own and those of my company. I bring to this discussion over twenty years of experience in AI and analytics systems development, including seven years in senior technical leadership roles at IBM, where I had the privilege of establishing what became the world's largest trustworthy AI Center of Excellence. This background has given me deep insight into both the tremendous potential and serious risks that come with advanced AI development, and it is from this perspective that I believe the RAISE Act represents exactly the kind of thoughtful, targeted regulation our industry needs.
This legislation strikes the right balance by focusing specifically on "frontier models" — the most powerful AI systems that require massive computational resources and could pose catastrophic risks if mismanaged. As CEO of an AI startup, I can confirm that this bill will not burden smaller companies like ours who are building useful AI applications. Instead, it appropriately places accountability on large developers with the resources and capabilities to create systems that could cause critical harm. The requirements for safety protocols, third-party audits, and incident reporting are reasonable safeguards that any responsible large-scale AI developer should already be implementing.
Having overseen complex compliance operations during my time in corporate leadership, I am confident that major AI companies have the technical expertise and organizational capacity to meet these requirements without stifling innovation. The bill's whistleblower protections are particularly important, as they empower employees to speak up about safety concerns — something that should be standard practice in any organization developing powerful technologies. New York has an opportunity to lead the nation in establishing sensible AI governance that protects the public while allowing continued innovation. I urge swift passage of the RAISE Act.
If you would like to send a similar statement - here is your header.
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
The Honorable Carl E. Heastie
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
932 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Temporary President and Majority Leader
New York State Senate
907 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Dear Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins:
Please share and support the RAISE Act A6453/S6953
This statement addresses the RAISE Act as currently proposed (A.6453-A). Since legislative sausage-making can get messy, my support applies to the current version only.