Two state assemblymembers representing the Upper East and Upper West sides traded barbs over AI and cryptocurrency in a debate Tuesday, just five days before early voting begins in the Democratic primary for the open congressional seat encompassing much of Manhattan.<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Alex Bores from the Upper East Side and Assemblymember Micah Lasher from the Upper West Side spent much of the night attacking each other, with polls<\/a> showing them leading the crowded field.<\/p>\n Lasher, a protege of retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, touted his government career. He attacked Bores\u2019 past work in the private sector for tech giant Palantir.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose public service, you chose Palantir,\u201d Lasher said at the debate co-hosted by WNYC and NY1 at Baruch College.<\/p>\n But Bores said his knowledge of the inner workings of big tech made him the best equipped to help regulate artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what actually happens inside these companies, and that’s what terrifies them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Former Republican-turned-anti-Trump Democrat George Conway, social media influencer and Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and public health expert Nina Schwalbe<\/a> launched their own broadsides against the two Albany lawmakers.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI just wish you guys would stop spending money on those mailers,\u201d Schwalbe said, referencing the millions of dollars<\/a> in spending that\u2019s poured into the race from outside groups tied to AI and crypto companies.<\/p>\n Lasher pointed to a Super PAC<\/a> funded by crypto billionaire Chris Larsen as further evidence that Bores was beholden to tech interests.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThe crypto industry has entered the chat,\u201d Lasher said.<\/p>\n