In this week's Power & Politics, News 12's Jonathan Gordon discusses maternal health in New York, protecting the environment and AI ads in politics.

MATERNAL HEALTH

A recently released audit of the New York Health Department from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office paints a grim picture about maternal health in the state.

DiNapoli's team found the state must do more to ensure maternal deaths and morbidity rates decline. His report acknowledged while the Department of Health has made progress to improve maternal health, federal and state health data shows pregnancy-related health conditions and death rates have increased since a taskforce was established in 2018 to address maternal health and racial disparities.

The report recommended better oversight of the task force and a full analysis of why racial maternal health disparities persist. In 2020, the department found for every 100,000 babies born, 54.7 Black mothers die during or after childbirth in New York. This is a rate over four times higher than white mothers.

The office also recommended promoting universal birth preparedness and postpartum continuity of care, improving access to telehealth and create a comprehensive data warehouse to monitor and track perinatal outcomes by race, ethnicity and insurance status to improve maternal health outcomes and address disparities.

New York State Deputy Comptroller Tina Kim who was on the executive team that did the audit called the statistics alarming.

"If you want to decrease disparities you have to know what the causation is and then you have to have recommendations and programs that address those disparities," she said.

State health officials generally agreed with the audit’s recommendations and indicated comprehensive actions they will take to implement them, according to DiNapoli.

The state comptroller's office plans to re-audit the health department in one year to see if there are any improvements.

NEW YORK 30X30

The public comment period to weigh in on New York's 30x30 plan wraps up at the end of this month.

The initiative dates back to December 2022 when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation that requires the state's Department of Environmental Conservation come up with a plan to 30% of New York's water and land by 2030.

In January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order that pledged to conserve 30% of United States lands and waters by 2030.

Bedford 2030 is a is a local Westchester nonprofit with similar goals. Program director Eve Hundt said this effort is critical to combatting climate change.

"It's easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of climate change and feel helpless but in reality there are lots of things that people can do," Hundt said.

DEEPFAKE POLITICAL ADS

With the 2024 elections approaching, a new threat has emerged in the form of deepfake political ads. These AI-generated ads can be incredibly convincing, making it difficult for voters to distinguish fact from fiction.

Recently, a deepfake robocall was sent to New Hampshire voters, urging them not to vote in the primary election. The call featured a digital forgery of President Joe Biden's voice, highlighting the potential for deepfakes to mislead voters.

Experts warn that deepfakes could have a significant impact on the elections, particularly in swing states. Eric Yaverbaum, a public relations executive, notes that deepfakes have the potential to be "as dangerous as any hacker, times about 1,000."

To combat this growing concern, the FCC has banned deepfake robocalls, and companies like Meta and Microsoft have introduced features to identify AI deception. However, only a handful of states have passed laws to put safeguards in place.

In New York, legislation requires AI-generated ads to come with disclosures, but similar bills are still under debate in New Jersey and Connecticut.

A nonprofit group has launched a deepfake detector to help users identify political fakes online. This tool can help voters make informed decisions, but experts emphasize that the era of fake cyber propaganda has only just begun.