New York City Comptroller Mark Levine sounded the alarm this week, warning that the rapid rise of artificial intelligence could cost the city tens of thousands of jobs and upend its economy if officials fail to prepare.
In a new report released Thursday, Levine outlined several scenarios for AI's impact on the city's job market and tax base, drawing on data from Moody's Analytics. The most extreme — and least likely — projection shows the private sector losing roughly 110,000 jobs by 2027. A more moderate but still troubling scenario sees the city shedding 52,500 jobs in a single year if the technology "falls flat."
Levine described New York as uniquely vulnerable because of its heavy reliance on office and finance jobs, sectors that are prime targets for AI-driven automation. "There is no city in America — and perhaps none on earth — more exposed to both the promise and peril of artificial intelligence than New York City," he wrote. "And there are few places with more power to steer the transformation ahead."
The comptroller criticized the city's lack of preparation, saying officials are "sleepwalking into the age of AI." He pointed out that despite the high stakes, the city has done almost nothing to cushion the blow or capitalize on potential gains.
The most likely scenario, according to the report, is moderate growth: the private sector adding 52,000 jobs per year between 2025 and 2030, with the stock market rising 9 percent. But even that outcome, Levine warned, requires proactive policy. "Despite the impossibly high stakes for us as we stare down the radical transformation ahead, New York City — economic and cultural colossus — is doing almost nothing to prepare," he wrote.
Levine's report echoes broader concerns about AI's impact on the U.S. economy, as seen in recent debates in Washington over regulation and workforce retraining. The comptroller specifically called for shoring up the city's rainy day fund to 16 percent of annual tax revenue — a level that would provide a buffer against sudden job losses. He also urged reforms to the pension system and stronger safeguards for public infrastructure against "AI-powered threats."
"If predicting the impact of transformative AI is hard, designing the policies needed to respond is harder still," Levine wrote. "But we cannot let uncertainty paralyze us." He pledged to release a broader agenda in the coming months to help city government meet the challenge.
The report comes as New York faces other pressing economic pressures, including ongoing trade tensions and the potential for a conflict in the Middle East that could disrupt global markets. The comptroller's office is expected to push for legislative action in Albany to address the risks.
