New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke with WIRED about artificial intelligence, data centers, AI in schools and the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections. The available interview text also focuses on how he uses social media to communicate city policies and on his working relationship with New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
Mamdani said his administration treats social media as a significant channel for reaching residents, alongside traditional outlets. He described setting up a WhatsApp channel, El Chisme Oficial de NYC, after Spanish-speaking New Yorkers said they needed a way to receive information directly. The channel shares city announcements and includes voice notes from the mayor speaking Spanish.
He argued that government should communicate through the platforms people already use rather than expect residents to find information in a press release or an obscure location. At the same time, he said that changing the format of political messages is not enough: the substance of those messages matters too.
Asked about the administration’s work with online creators, Mamdani said talking points help explain policies and compared them with information included in press releases. He said the city should engage with both journalists and digital-first creators, while recognizing that different media serve different audiences.
The interview also covered Mamdani’s support for Hochul’s reelection campaign. He said the endorsement reflected a productive working relationship and pointed to the state’s commitment of $1.2 billion toward universal childcare for 2-year-olds in New York City as a key result of that partnership.
Although the interview’s headline highlights Mamdani’s views on AI and data centers, the recovered text ends before those topics are discussed in detail. It identifies AI in schools as another subject of the conversation but provides no further account of his position.
Sources: WIRED.