Bloomberg reports that former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon will testify at the New York City Council hearing on artificial intelligence. The outlet broke the news on October 4, citing people familiar with the matter; Reuters itself noted that it could not independently verify the information. According to Bloomberg Law, Coxon will appear at the hearing on Monday, October 5, alongside representatives of the world's largest AI companies. Reuters details Bloomberg's report.

Who Is Organizing the Hearing

According to Bloomberg, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin invited Coxon to testify at the hearing. Menin had publicly called on whistleblowers from the AI industry to speak before city lawmakers. The outlet writes that this call is linked to a package of bills under council review: city lawmakers are debating a series of documents aimed at establishing safeguards around artificial intelligence, and Menin wants to hear critical voices from inside the industry as part of that debate.

According to Bloomberg, Menin's appeal to whistleblowers came as the council is discussing the bill package — that is, the testimonies are planned as part of the legislative process on safeguards. Bloomberg Law adds that Monday's hearing will also include representatives of the world's largest AI companies alongside Coxon. Their exact roster has not yet been disclosed — this is one of the unconfirmed parts of the report. According to Bloomberg Law, the event will take place at the city council level.

What Coxon Warned About

Coxon left Anthropic in September 2026 — about a month later, Bloomberg reported his planned appearance at the city council hearing. Upon leaving, he issued a sharply critical statement about AI system safety:

"The people building AI genuinely believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade," Coxon said. He accused his former employer Anthropic and OpenAI of "gambling with our lives" (according to Reuters).

Reuters writes that these statements coincided with his September departure. The quote contains two main claims: first, the assertion that the very specialists building AI worry about catastrophic risk before the end of the decade; second, the accusation that Anthropic and OpenAI keep taking risks despite it. The accusation targets two names directly — his former employer and the industry's biggest competitor.

The key point is that these words belong not to an outside observer, but to someone who worked as a researcher at one of the leading AI labs. According to Bloomberg, Menin called for testimony precisely from such insider voices — whistleblowers from within the companies.

Read also: OpenAI Fires Three Safety Researchers

How the Story Spread

The story spread in three stages. First, Bloomberg News reported on October 4, citing people familiar with the matter: former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon will testify at the New York City Council hearing. Reuters then relayed the story to its readers — but the agency separately noted it could not independently verify Bloomberg's information. A third outlet, Bloomberg Law, also wrote on October 4 that Coxon would appear at the hearing on Monday, October 5, alongside representatives of the world's largest AI companies.

All three outlets thus repeat the same core claim: Coxon will testify before the city council on Monday. Reuters said it was directly relaying Bloomberg's report, while Bloomberg Law wrote about the same event in its own piece. Reuters' open note about being unable to verify independently is the official indication that the story remains unconfirmed. All three pieces were published on October 4.

Why the Story Deserves Caution

So far, based on Bloomberg and Bloomberg Law sources, the following is known: Coxon's appearance at the hearing is planned, Menin invited him, the event is scheduled for Monday, October 5, and representatives of major AI companies are also expected to take part. No official confirmation has yet been published either by the council or by Coxon himself, and the list of other participants has not been specified either.

The story broke on October 4, while the hearing is scheduled for Monday, October 5. Until official confirmation arrives, the report's details should be treated with caution — including Coxon's participation, which remains a claim based on Bloomberg's sources.