New York State Comptroller's AI Governance Audit — No Statewide AI Inventory More Than a Year After the State's AI Policy

On 3 April 2025 the New York State Comptroller published an audit of how the state governs artificial intelligence. It examined the Office of Information Technology Services' (ITS) January 2024 AI policy and AI use at four agencies: the Office for the Aging, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation.
Auditors found insufficient central guidance and oversight to verify that AI systems are reliable and accurate. More than a year after the policy was issued, ITS had no inventory of AI systems in use by state entities. The policy contained only two sentences on bias management and left agencies free to decide what counts as responsible use.
None of the four agencies kept a formal AI inventory and three lacked internal AI governance policies. Only the DMV had risk-assessment policies, yet it exempted its facial-recognition system from oversight.
The audit made seven recommendations: strengthen the policy with adoption guidance, add training and oversight, build agency-level governance structures, and have the DMV review its facial-recognition system. ITS said it was reviewing them and developing training; three agencies agreed to create governance structures, while the DMV disagreed with the findings but accepted the recommendations. The Comptroller said he would advance a bill requiring regular independent audits of state agencies' AI governance. This is an audit of governance gaps, not a demonstration of improved outcomes, so evidence of impact is limited.

Read the full analysis: https://www.osc.ny.gov/press/releases/2025/04/dinapoli-improved-guidance-needed-state-agencies-using-ai-avoid-risks