Recent Trends and Developments in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies
Read the full report here.
REPORT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
“As a bar association, we of course need to consider the practical issues of how to – and how not to – incorporate AI into the provision of legal services and the administration of justice. But with law being where ethics and morality interact with the regulation of human conduct, and with the potent impact AI is bringing across society with both great promise and great peril, it is incumbent on organizations like ours to facilitate discussion about these issues among thought leaders, lawyers, scientists, technologists, academics, business leaders, ethicists, citizens and policymakers.” Muhammad U. Faridi, President, New York City Bar Association (September 9, 2024)
The New York City Bar Association (City Bar) Presidential[1] Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies (Task Force) is composed of approximately 250 representatives of more than 50 committees, councils, and other task forces of the City Bar and adjunct members, including lawyers, academics, computer scientists, trade association representatives, consultants, technologists, roboticists, neurotechnologists, ethicists, and others. Virtually every City Bar practice area is represented on the Task Force. The primary mission of the Task Force is to create a Center of Excellence and Thought Leadership in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, including innovative technologies that create new or enhanced products and services, digital assets, and more efficient, convenient, and effective ways of doing business.
For transparency purposes and to make it easy for stakeholders to access Task Force activities and programs, the Task Force created a dashboard with a Task Force Overview Page[2] and a Task Force Leadership Page.[3] The Task Force Overview Page contains detailed information about the Task Force and its mission, including its governance, its subcommittees and their missions, its working groups and their missions, and the roles and responsibilities and affiliations of the subcommittee members as well as the policy positions[4] supported by the Task Force. The Task Force Leadership Page contains detailed information about the Task Force co-chairs and the Task Force subcommittee co-chairs, including their brief bios and a photograph as well as a list of their recent activities. Finally, the Task Force manages the City Bar AI Policy & Practice Hub.[5] The AI Policy & Practice Hub is a central location for City Bar activities and programs related to artificial intelligence, including podcasts, webinars, seminars, articles, blogs, reports, statements, and other writings.
The Task Force[6] is led by three co-chairs[7] and subcommittee co-chairs[8] from twenty-nine subcommittees and six working groups[9] that focus on a discrete, and often overlapping, area of artificial intelligence and digital technologies.[10] All of the members of the artificial intelligence subcommittees are appointed in coordination with the City Bar President.[11]
The Task Force Co-Chairs and the City Bar President use key performance indicators (KPIs)[12] to determine the annual effectiveness of the Task Force reaching its twin goals of maintaining its status as (1) a Center of Excellence and (2) Thought Leaders in artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
In 2025, the Task Force:
- released 12 podcasts;[13]
- hosted 2 webinars;[14]
- hosted 4 in-person events,[15] including three Task Force major signature[16] CLE programs;[17]
- published 6 reports;[18]
- published 3 blogs;[19]
- researched and analyzed 35 substantive areas;[20] and
- collaborated with the City Bar Policy Department on a number of significant policy successes.[21]
This work was completed with a wide range of stakeholders from governmental agencies; the academic community; private practitioners; computer scientists; ethicists; roboticists; neurotechnologists; disabled persons; creators, developers, and deployers; consumer groups; trade associations; international institutions; in-house counsel; risk managers; compliance professionals; behavioral scientists; public defenders; law enforcement; and others from multiple states in the US and from representatives across countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (4)
II. MODERNIZATION OF THE NEW YORK UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE (5)
III. PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (12)
1. SUBCOMMITTEES ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE(12)
A. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice (12)
B. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Civil Liberties (20)
C. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Legal Ethics (22)
D. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and National Security (47)
E. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (53)
F. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Commerce and Finance (60)
G. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (66)
H. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Labor and Employment Law (77)
I. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Legal Education (83)
J. Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence in Mergers and Acquisitions and Antitrust Law (85)
K. Subcommittee on Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Law (91)
L. Subcommittee on Liabilities and Remedies Related to the Use of Artificial Intelligence (92)
M. Subcommittee on the International Regulation of Artificial Intelligence (97)
N. Subcommittee on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Judiciary (114)
O. Working Group on Artificial Intelligence Sentience (116)
2. SUBCOMMITTEES ON DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (129)
A. Subcommittee on Behavioral Science in Digital Technologies (129)
B. Subcommittee on Crypto Products and Services (135)
C. Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Data Protection (139)
D. Subcommittee on Digital Technologies Consumer Protection (150)
E. Subcommittee on Digital Technologies Issues for Nonprofit Organizations (158)
F. Subcommittee on Distributed Ledger Technology and Blockchain (165)
G. Subcommittee on Electronic Mobility Services (167)
H. Subcommittee on Law Enforcement and Regulatory Agency Digital Technologies Activities (171)
I. Subcommittee on Payment Services and Systems (174)
J. Subcommittee on Privacy (178)
IV. TASK FORCE OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (182)
1. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (182)
2. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (189)
Read the full report here.
Footnotes
[1] Not all City Bar task forces are presidential task forces. This is a presidential task force because it was established in coordination with City Bar President Muhammad Faridi, who is the head of the Task Force. Faridi is also a Partner at Linklaters. The Task Force Co-Chairs, on a monthly basis, in arrears, submits a written status report to the City Bar President on the activities and programs of the Task Force. A quarterly compilation of those monthly reports is distributed to City Bar members as a blog. See July 7, 2025 blog titled City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Tech on the Cusp of Legislative Achievement available at https://www.nycbar.org/blogs/city-bar-presidential-task-force-on-ai-and-digital-tech-on-the-cusp-of-legislative-achievement/. (All websites last accessed April 1, 2026)
[2] N.Y.C. Bar Ass’n, Task Force on Digital Technologies,
https://www.nycbar.org/committees/task-force-on-digital-technologies/.
[3] N.Y.C. Bar Ass’n, Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence & Digital Technologies, Leadership (Oct. 1, 2025),
https://www.nycbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PTFAIDT-Leadership-251001.pdf.
[4] N.Y.C. Bar Ass’n, Talking Points & Resources: N.Y. Emerging Technologies Amendments to the U.C.C.,
https://www.nycbar.org/issues-policy/advocacy-campaigns/talking-points-resources-ny-emerging-technologies-amendments-to-the-ucc/.
[5] N.Y.C. Bar Ass’n, A.I. Policy & Practice Hub, https://www.nycbar.org/serving-the-community/ai-policy-practice-hub/.
[6] The Task Force is the successor to the City Bar Task Force on Digital Technologies, which launched in June 2022. The Task Force on Digital Technologies was the successor to the City Bar Working Group on Cryptocurrencies, which was formed in October 2021.
[7] The three co-chairs are (1) Lorraine McGowen, Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; (2) Tiffany Smith, Partner at WilmerHale; and (3) Jerome Walker, Partner at Jerome Walker PLLC.
[8] Task Force Leadership Page available at https://www.nycbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DTTF-Leadership-24918.pdf.
[9] While Task Force subcommittees are intended to be perpetual, working groups are intended to achieve a goal and subsequently discontinue shortly after achieving the goal.
[10] One of the Task Force subcommittees, the Subcommittee on Publications (Publications Subcommittee), reviews and approves virtually all Task Force articles, blogs, and reports. The primary mission of the Publications Subcommittee is to serve as a peer review for Task Force writings, especially articles, blogs, reports, statements and other writings. Publications Subcommittee members include (1) Co-Chair Angelena Bradfield, Head of Policy at the Financial Technology Association; (2) Rama G. Elluru, Senior Director for Society and Intellectual Property, Society Panel at the Special Competitive Studies Project; (3) Robert Mahari, CEO and Founder, Avika, and former Associate Director at CODEX, Sanford University Center for Legal Informatics; (4) Lorraine McGowen, Task Force Co-Chair and Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; (5) Robert Schwinger, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP; (6) Co-Chair Edwin Smith, Massachusetts Uniform Law Commissioner and Senior Consultant at Morgan Lewis; (7) Tiffany Smith, Task Force Co-Chair and Partner at WilmerHale; and (8) Jerome Walker, Task Force Co-Chair and Partner at Jerome Walker PLLC.
[11] The views expressed in this Annual Report do not necessarily reflect the views of individual members of the Task Force or its subcommittees and working groups or any employer or organization with which Task Force members are affiliated.
[12] The KPIs include (1) total number of podcasts on AI and digital technologies released annually; (2) total number of webinars on AI and digital technologies released annually; (3) total number of in-person seminars on AI and digital technologies hosted annually; (4) total number of reports on AI and digital technologies published annually; (5) total number of articles and blogs on AI and digital technologies published annually; (6) total number of substantive areas covered on AI and digital technologies annually; (7) total number of types of stakeholders in AI and digital technologies represented on the Task Force annually; (8) total number of material laws or policies on artificial intelligence and digital technologies influenced annually; (9) total number of external collaborations on artificial intelligence and digital technologies annually; and (10) total number of significant policy successes annually.
[13] NY Passes Emerging Technologies Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code with City Bar’s Help (December 5, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/ny-passes-emerging-technologies-amendments-to-the-uniform-commercial-code-with-city-bars-help/?back=1 ; Methodologies for AI Assessments, Reviews and Audits (November 6, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/methodologies-for-ai-assessments-reviews-and-audits/?back=1 ; AI and Civil Liberties: Law Enforcement in “Wexford” (October 2, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/ai-and-civil-liberties-law-enforcement-in-wexford/?back=1 ; Digital Assets and the Nonprofit Sector (September 2, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/digital-assets-and-the-nonprofit-sector/?back=1 ; Financial Frontiers in the Metaverse (August 7, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/financial-frontiers-in-the-metaverse/?back=1 ; AI and Accessibility (June 13, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/ai-and-accessibility/?back=1 ; AI in Commerce and Finance (June 12, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/ai-in-commerce-and-finance/?back=1 ; How Microsoft AI Is Expanding Capacity for DACA Clinics with the North West Immigrant Rights Project (April 17, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/how-microsoft-ai-is-expanding-capacity-for-daca-clinics-with-the-north-west-immigrant-rights-project/?back=1 ; Analyzing President Trump’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence (March 6, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/analyzing-president-trumps-executive-order-on-artificial-intelligence/?back=1 ; Analyzing President Trump’s Executive Order on Digital Financial Technology (February 20, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/analyzing-president-trumps-executive-order-on-digital-financial-technology/?back=1 ; Liabilities and Remedies for AI: Charting New Territory (February 6, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/liabilities-and-remedies-for-ai-charting-new-territory/?back=1 ; and Should Lawyers and Judges Be Required to Disclose Their Use of AI? (January 16, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/podcasts/should-lawyers-and-judges-be-required-to-disclose-their-use-of-ai/?back=1.
[14] Beyond the Basics: Advanced Cybersecurity for Lawyers (December 17, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/cle-offerings/beyond-the-basics-advanced-cybersecurity-for-lawyers/ and The Role of Regulation in Artificial Intelligence: A Global Perspective (March 27, 2025) available at https://services.nycbar.org/EventDetail?EventKey=TFDT032725&WebsiteKey=f71e12f3-524e-4f8c-a5f7-0d16ce7b3314.
[15] Artificial Intelligence and Clinical Care (October 16, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/cle-offerings/artificial-intelligence-and-clinical-care/.
[16] There are only three Task Force signature events: (1) the March Crypto Conference; (2) the June Artificial Intelligence Conference; and (3) the September Fintech Conference.
[17] The March 11, 2025 Crypto Conference available at https://www.nycbar.org/cle-offerings/crypto-institute-ondemand/; the June 16, 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference available at https://services.nycbar.org/AIInstitute/ ; and the September 19, 2025 FinTech Conference available at https://services.nycbar.org/FinTech/.
[18] Comment Letter on OCA Generative AI Proposal (December 23, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/comment-letter-on-oca-generative-ai-proposal/?back=1 ; Support for the New York Emerging Technologies Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (June 30, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/ny-emerging-technologies-amends-ucc/?back=1 ; The Impact of the Use of AI on People with Disabilities (June 12, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/the-impact-of-the-use-of-ai-on-people-with-disabilities/?back=1 ; Current Ethics Opinions and Reports Related to Generative Artificial Intelligence (May 28, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/current-ethics-opinions-and-reports-related-to-generative-artificial-intelligence/?back=1 ; Reflections on US Treasury Department Report on AI in Financial Services (February 20, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/reflections-on-us-treasury-department-report-on-ai-in-financial-services/?back=1 ; and Top Trends of 2024 in Behavioral Science, Digital Tech, Data, and AI (January 28, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/reports/top-trends-of-2024-in-behavioral-science-digital-tech-data-and-ai/?back=1.
[19] City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Tech on the Cusp of Legislative Achievement (July 7, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/blogs/city-bar-presidential-task-force-on-ai-and-digital-tech-on-the-cusp-of-legislative-achievement/?back=1 ; City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Tech Continues Expansion and Focus on Thought Leadership (May 7, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/blogs/city-bar-presidential-task-force-on-ai-and-digital-tech-continues-expansion-and-focus-on-thought-leadership/?back=1 and City Bar Presidential Task Force on AI and Digital Tech Continued Fast and Productive Pace During the 4th Quarter 2024 and the 1st Quarter 2025 (April 15, 2025) available at https://www.nycbar.org/blogs/city-bar-presidential-task-force-on-ai-and-digital-tech-continued-fast-and-productive-pace-during-the-4th-quarter-2024-and-the-1st-quarter-2025/?back=1.
[20] The substantive areas were covered by the Task Force Co-Chairs; 16 Task Force artificial intelligence subcommittees; 11 Task Force digital technologies subcommittees; and 6 Task Force working groups.
[21] On December 5, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York UCC modernization bill drafted by the Task Force. See City Bar Applauds Governor Hochul for Signing Emerging Technologies Amendments to the UCC available at https://www.nycbar.org/press-releases/city-bar-applauds-governor-hochul-for-signing-emerging-technologies-amendments-to-the-ucc/ and Talking Points & Resources | NY Emerging Technologies Amendments to the UCC, the New York Emerging Technology Amendments would modernize, rationalize, and clarify the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) so that it effectively governs the commercial law aspects of important transactions in digital assets. This page is intended to be a resource to help advocate for the Amendments enactment available at https://www.nycbar.org/issues-policy/policy-department-resources/talking-points-resources-ny-emerging-technologies-amendments-to-the-ucc/. On December 25, 2025, it was brought to the attention of the Task Force that a technical correction to the bill signed into law on December 5, 2025, was needed. The error that needs to be corrected is in the amendments to UCC Section 5-116 concerning letters of credit (section 33 of the NY bill) with respect to the last sentence of existing 5-116(b), which should have been broken out as a new subsection (c). After that, text should have been added for a new subsection (d), and then appropriate cross-reference and redesignation changes should have been made in the balance of the section. Among other policy areas, in 2025, the Task Force also reviewed and analyzed virtually every major legislative action on AI and crypto at the state, federal, and international level across industries, sectors, and governmental entities.