public services

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s skepticism about taxing billionaires to help working New Yorkers. Mamdani countered that teachers in Queens would “beg to differ” on whether such taxes help. While Bezos advocated for zero federal income tax for the bottom half of earners, Mamdani champions “tax-the-rich” policies, including a proposed “pied-à-terre” tax on luxury second homes, aiming to fund city services and address affordability.

The UK government is piloting “agentic” AI from Anthropic to help citizens navigate complex services, starting with employment. This initiative moves beyond basic chatbots to active assistance, aiming to bridge the gap between available information and user action. The project prioritizes safety through a “Scan, Pilot, Scale” approach, ensuring data sovereignty and building internal AI expertise to avoid vendor lock-in. This collaboration aims to set a benchmark for responsible public sector AI deployment.