Requires the division of criminal justice services to promulgate a written protocol for the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology in criminal investigations.

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7172

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 21, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the regulation of  the
          use  of  artificial  intelligence and facial recognition technology in
          criminal investigations; and to amend the criminal procedure  law,  in
          relation  to  limiting  the  use  of artificial intelligence-generated
          outputs in court

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent.   Artificial intelligence tools like
     2  Cybercheck and facial recognition technologies have been used extensive-
     3  ly in criminal investigations across the U.S.,  including  nearly  8,000
     4  cases  in  40  states.  However,  their use has raised significant legal
     5  challenges due to the lack of transparency in  their  methodologies  and
     6  concerns  over accuracy and reliability. Defense attorneys have success-
     7  fully argued in several  cases  that  AI-generated  evidence  should  be
     8  excluded  from  court  proceedings due to these issues. This act aims to
     9  address these concerns by prohibiting the use of AI  outputs,  including
    10  facial  recognition,  as  evidence while allowing their use for investi-
    11  gative purposes, thereby protecting the rights of defendants  and  main-
    12  taining the integrity of the judicial process.
    13    §  2.  Section  837  of  the  executive law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 24 to read as follows:
    15    24. (a) Promulgate a standardized and detailed  written  protocol  for
    16  the  utilization  of  artificial  intelligence by police agencies in the
    17  investigation of criminal  activity.  The  protocol  shall  address  the
    18  following topics:
    19    (i) authorizing law enforcement agencies to utilize AI systems and FRT
    20  for  investigative purposes, including but not limited to data analysis,
    21  pattern recognition, facial recognition, and predictive analytics;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11032-01-5
        A. 7172                             2

     1    (ii) authorizing law enforcement agencies to utilize  AI  systems  and
     2  FRT  to  assist  in identifying potential suspects, uncovering evidence,
     3  and generating investigative leads;
     4    (iii)  requiring law enforcement agencies utilizing AI systems and FRT
     5  to implement transparency measures,  including  maintaining  records  of
     6  AI-generated  outputs  and  the  parameters  used by the AI system. Such
     7  records shall be subject to audit and review by an independent oversight
     8  body designated by the department to ensure compliance with  the  proto-
     9  col;
    10    (iv)  requiring  law enforcement agencies utilizing AI systems and FRT
    11  to undergo regular independent audits of FRT  systems  to  assess  their
    12  accuracy  and  biases.  The  results  of  these audits shall be publicly
    13  accessible and disclosed in any case where FRT evidence is used; and
    14    (v) requiring that law enforcement officers utilizing AI  systems  and
    15  FRT  receive  thorough  training on the limitations and proper use of AI
    16  systems and FRT, emphasizing the importance of understanding  and  miti-
    17  gating biases and errors.
    18    (b) For the purposes of this subdivision:
    19    (i)  "artificial  intelligence"  or  "AI" means a machine-based system
    20  that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions,
    21  recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments;
    22    (ii) "AI-generated output" means any information, analysis,  or  deci-
    23  sion produced by an AI system during a criminal investigation, including
    24  but  not  limited to facial recognition, predictive policing models, and
    25  other machine learning algorithms; and
    26    (iii) "facial recognition technology" or "FRT" means a technology that
    27  analyzes facial features and is capable of identifying  or  verifying  a
    28  person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source.
    29    §  3.  The  criminal  procedure law is amended by adding a new section
    30  60.77 to read as follows:
    31  § 60.77 Rules of evidence; use of artificial intelligence.
    32    1. Artificial intelligence-generated outputs, including facial  recog-
    33  nition  results,  shall not be admissible as evidence in any criminal or
    34  civil court proceeding.
    35    2. No party in a criminal or civil case shall reference  or  introduce
    36  artificial  intelligence-generated outputs, including facial recognition
    37  results, during questioning of witnesses, suspects, or defendants.
    38    3. Artificial intelligence-generated outputs shall not form the  basis
    39  for any legal decision or judgment.
    40    4. Defendants shall have the right to expert witnesses who can testify
    41  about  the  reliability  and  limitations of artificial intelligence and
    42  facial recognition technology systems used in the investigation of their
    43  cases. Funding shall be available through the office of  indigent  legal
    44  services to indigent defendants to access such experts.
    45    5.  All prosecutorial offices must disclose detailed information about
    46  any artificial intelligence systems and  facial  recognition  technology
    47  used  in  investigations,  including  error  rates, known biases, source
    48  code, and algorithmic transparency, where possible.
    49    § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    50  have become a law.