Across the United States, affordability is the defining issue of the moment, and nowhere is that more true than in New York. From housing and child care to transportation and basic services, the cost of living has reached a breaking point for many New Yorkers. It’s no surprise that Mayor Mamdani’s campaign — centered on making the city more affordable — resonated so strongly with voters.
The mayor advanced his efforts to ease these financial burdens by announcing that every city agency would be required to appoint a chief savings officer tasked with identifying savings within a 45-day window.
At Tech:NYC, we’ve long advocated for this kind of approach with the knowledge that technology will be critical to whether these affordability goals are actually delivered. When deployed thoughtfully and with purpose, technology can be one of the most powerful tools our public servants have to lower costs, streamline services, and better serve the people who rely on them.
With the appointment of a new chief technology office, computer scientist Lisa Gelobter, the administration has a real opportunity to deploy technology in a smart, safe, and efficient way to make New York work better for New Yorkers. We know what it looks like when a government agency successfully rolls out a new technology — the MTA has seamlessly moved millions of subway and bus riders over to a “tap to pay” system.
We also know what it looks like when government unsuccessfully implements a new technology, like when the Adams administration unveiled a citywide AI chatbot that failed to deliver any meaningful value.
The chatbot was deeply flawed, almost entirely inaccurate at times, and ultimately unhelpful for residents trying to navigate city services. The frustration that led the mayor to announce its demise is understandable. But eliminating a flawed tool should be the starting point, not the final answer, in building a more efficient and accessible city government.
Technology itself isn’t the problem — poor implementation is. Simply removing digital tools from government, rather than improving or reimagining them, risks missing one of the most powerful ways to reduce costs, streamline services, and make government more accessible to the millions of New Yorkers who rely on it every day. This work matters especially now, as chief savings officers step into their roles and the 45-day countdown begins.
Across New York, this work has already started. With Tech:NYC’s Decoded Futures program, nonprofits go through a no-cost eight-week training in using AI to build capacity and scale their impact. We’ve seen firsthand how AI and digital tools, deployed in partnership with these organizations, are delivering real value for the social sector and for our community.
NY Sun Works, for example, is a nonprofit that provides hydroponic gardens for public schools, teaching 140,000 students annually about sustainability. They were struggling with inefficient supply logistics that led to wasted dollars and missing packages. Through Decoded Futures, they used AI to build a real-time tracking system for school garden deliveries across more than 350 schools. The result was substantial: fewer lost shipments, less staff time spent managing logistics, and a program that can scale without ballooning costs.
Mamdani is right to focus on affordability. The next step is making technology part of the solution. New York has the talent and public servants to build a government that’s both effective and affordable. If we get tech right, we can cut costs while improving the services New Yorkers rely on.
Samuels is president and CEO of Tech:NYC.
