NYC MyCity Business Chatbot
System Description
Microsoft Azure-powered chatbot deployed by NYC to provide business guidance to entrepreneurs
Authoritative Output Type
Official government guidance on business regulations, housing law, and worker rights
Missing Required State
NYC municipal code verification, current legal requirement validation, domain-specific legal constraints
Why This Is SAF
Chatbot presented itself as providing 'official NYC Business information' while generating responses that directly contradicted NYC law - telling landlords they could discriminate by income source (illegal), that employers could take worker tips (illegal), and that tenants could be locked out (illegal)
Completeness Gate Question
Has this regulatory guidance been validated against current NYC municipal codes and state law?
Documented Consequence
No formal penalty but significant reputational damage, city added disclaimers, chatbot remains active with warnings not to use for legal advice
Primary Sources
Notes
- **Verified**: 2025-12-19 - **Investigation Date**: March 29, 2024 - **Notes**: Chatbot launched October 2023, issues documented March 2024
Prevent this in your system.
The completeness gate question above is exactly what Ontic checks before any claim gets out. No evidence, no emission.