City & State’s 2025 Digital Summit explores AI, vulnerabilities to cyberattacks

Government heads joined cybersecurity experts at City & State’s 2025 Digital Summit Wednesday, a daylong event that featured discussions about progress made in rolling out artificial intelligence and digital services, the vulnerabilities of New York’s infrastructure, as well as its resilience to withstand cyber attacks. 

Addressing attendees at the event held at Hebrew Union College in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood, keynote speaker Dru Rai, the state’s chief information officer, noted progress made in artificial intelligence and used the occasion to announce that the state had hired its first chief AI officer, Shreya Amin. Formerly the chief data and AI scientist at health tech company Wellist, Amin will lead the state’s efforts to leverage AI’s benefits while minimizing its risks, the state Office of Information Technology Services later added. Rai also said on Wednesday that state agencies are currently investing in simpler generative AI models to automate tasks. 

Rai, who serves as the director of the state’s Office of Information Technology Services, oversees the department’s delivery of IT services to more than 57 executive agencies and commissions – one of the largest consolidated state-level organizations. 

Echoing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget priorities of public safety and affordability, Rai detailed how recent investments will translate into better state-level cybersecurity. 

“When you think about cybersecurity, we have to protect the state, but you can’t be protected if your counties, cities and federal government don't work together. It’s a team sport, right? The weakest link is the strongest link in cybersecurity,” Rai told attendees. “Despite the very real and very dangerous threat [of cybersecurity], I'm really honored to say that New York state is actually safer than it was yesterday.”

These improvements have been accomplished by the Joint Security Operations Center, a first-of-its-kind hub launched and managed by NYC Cyber Command and New York state to serve as a central nervous system for intelligence gathering and dissemination to city, state, and federal partners. A piece of New York's first ever comprehensive statewide cybersecurity strategy, the model is responsible for protecting nearly 130,000 state employees. Hochul recently announced an additional $174 million to the initiative including 295 full-time equivalents to the agency’s budget. 

Looking to recruit new hires from the city’s budding AI trained workforce, Panelist Cecilia Kushner, chief strategy officer of the New York City Economic Development Corporation indicated that the organization has submitted a request for proposal for its “AI Nexus” – an operator that will create cohorts of businesses with AI needs. The initiative is intended to spur partnerships among startups in the city. 

New York City Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser, in a fireside chat with City & State at the event, updated attendees on the progress of MyCity – Mayor Eric Adams’ ambitious “one stop shop” for consolidated city benefits. Fraser noted that the progress was akin to a “crawl, walk, run, jump.” MyCity started out prioritizing childcare services and much of the initial service model was dedicated to creating a common framework to authenticate and identify people while sharing information with agencies. So far, 40,000 people have collected benefits through MyCity, and 100,000 people have created an account relating to childcare. 

“One of the fun things is that, like I tell many people, some days my job is technology, some days it's everything but technology. And that's the sign I think of a good tech leader,” said Fraser. “We've evolved in such a way where we're a cornerstone in almost every conversation.” 

With broadband access and connectivity now central to all industries across New York City, experts stressed the importance of continued capacity building through policies like New York's Affordable Broadband Act – the nation’s first to mandate affordable internet for qualifying households. 

“The Affordable Broadband Act is now that's the law of the land, and many other states are now looking to copy what New York State is doing as far as the Affordable Broadband Act. It's a somewhat controversial policy from the industry standpoint, but from the consumer that actually needs this critical, essential service – it's a real lifeline,” said Robert Gaudioso, vice president of regulatory affairs of the New York State Wireless Association.

According to experts, such initiatives are essential in bridging the digital divide, especially among less-resourced communities who lack access to proper digital infrastructure, digital literacy and opportunities.  

“The potential manifests in the classroom,” said Oscar Romero Jr., chief information officer of the New York City Civic Engagement Commission. “When a teacher teaches a young person how to expand their horizons using the things that they could otherwise not have used before. It manifests when people can access services.”