On Monday, October 5, 2026, the New York City Council held a historic hearing in Manhattan. In the rare Committee of the Whole format, which gathered all 51 council members in one place, representatives of Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta gave testimony under oath before a U.S. legislature for the first time.
The hearing was prompted by warnings from artificial intelligence insiders. AI experts warned city leaders about the dangers of the evolving technology. They demanded stronger oversight from local authorities — citing growing concerns that the systems could pose a risk to humanity.
Why this hearing is historic
The New York City Council secured the first public under-oath testimony from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta. The Committee of the Whole is a rarely used format that brings all 51 council members into one room; such a broad convening shows how high a priority the issue is for city leadership. The fact that the testimony was given under oath increases its legal significance. The hearing examined AI risks and legislative solutions to address them, with two separate panels — former employees and current company representatives — presenting opposing positions.
Former employees: "companies are building technology they cannot control"
Recently departed employees of Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind told the council that a culture of carelessness prevails at the companies. According to them, the largest technology companies are racing to build technology that they themselves do not know how to control. The former employees stressed that the pace of this race has outstripped safety measures, and warned the council that control over the technology could be lost entirely.
Former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon described the companies' internal culture to the council as follows:
"Companies operate on startup logic: move fast, break things, fix them later. That works for a photo-sharing app. It does not work when building the most powerful technology humanity has ever created."
In his view, the "move fast" philosophy suited to consumer apps becomes dangerous when applied to the most powerful technology in human history.
Coxon: humanity could lose control
Coxon ended his remarks with the starkest warning. According to him, if the current course continues, it is most likely that humanity will lose control over AI systems — and that this could end with the extinction of humanity:
"On the current path, I think it is most likely that humanity will lose control of these AIs, and this could end with the extinction of humanity."
Thus the former-employee panel openly presented before the council not only current practice, but also the worst-case scenario for the future.
Companies: systems are improving everyday life
A separate panel of employees from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta also addressed officials at the Manhattan hearing. They said their systems are improving people's everyday lives, and emphasized that the companies give safety maximum attention. In their statements, company representatives specifically noted that ensuring the safety of the systems is the top priority. In this way, two opposing positions sounded side by side at the hearing: the former employees' warning and the current employees' reassurances. The company representatives also gave their testimony under oath.
Bills: the first whistleblower incentive program in U.S. history
The hearing examined AI risks and legislative solutions. The package of bills under discussion includes the following. First — the country's first whistleblower incentive program: this mechanism is aimed at protecting and incentivizing individuals who report violations in the AI sector. Second — the right of New Yorkers harmed by AI agents to file personal claims in court. Third — independent third-party audit requirements: AI systems would have to be reviewed by outside experts. If adopted, it would be the first such mechanism in the country. Together, these measures are aimed at creating a mechanism of external oversight over AI systems.
Subpoena for Musk's company
Ahead of the hearing, council speaker Julie Menin issued a rare subpoena to Elon Musk's SpaceXAI — the company had not responded to the council's inquiry. The council stated that if SpaceXAI does not comply with the subpoena, it will pursue enforcement measures in the New York State Supreme Court. Menin took this step because the company failed to respond to the council's official request. The subpoena was seen as a move to broaden the circle of hearing participants and to hear the positions of all major players.
Read more: New York City Council press release and the Compuserve story. Also read our earlier article on the hearing announcement.
