AI Executives Decline To Guarantee Safety In Marathon New York City Council Hearing
· TexaHub · Regulation & Ethics, Artificial Intelligence
Representatives of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta testified under oath before all 51 members of the New York City Council on 5 October, while subpoenaed SpaceXAI did not appear. The Council is weighing ten AI bills and resolutions.
A rare full-council hearing
The New York City Council held a special hearing on AI risk on 5 October 2026 with all 51 members present, a format known as a Committee of the Whole. Executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta testified virtually, according to local reporting [1][3].
Speaker Julie Menin led the session, which was scheduled across 14 panels with more than 69 witnesses, The City Reporter said [1]. The companies named as witnesses were Morgan Dwyer of OpenAI, Logan Graham of Anthropic, Shane Cahill of Meta and Alice Friend of Google, according to amNY [2].
Limited answers on risk and liability
Company representatives declined to put a figure on the probability of catastrophic AI harm and did not commit that a failed independent safety test would automatically block a model release, amNY reported. Most also gave evasive answers when asked whether their companies would bear legal liability if a system caused serious harm [2].
Asked by Menin to quantify risks, Meta's Cahill replied: "I don't have our framework in front of me right now," CBS News New York reported [3].
Whistleblower testimony
Former AI employees also testified. Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic employee, said that "on the current path, I think it is more likely than not that humanity loses control to these AIs," and described a "startup mindset" of moving fast and fixing problems later, according to CBS News New York [3]. Daniel Kokotajlo, formerly of OpenAI, said companies should not be allowed to take risks with people's lives even if rivals in China might do so later [3]. amNY also listed Alex Turner, formerly of Google DeepMind, among the witnesses warning about autonomous systems [2].
Subpoena, bills and limits of city power
SpaceXAI did not appear despite a subpoena. Menin said the city is "pursuing legal action" against the company, The City Reporter reported [1].
The Council introduced ten bills and resolutions, according to The City Reporter [1]. CBS News New York described topics including unauthorized AI depictions of officials, third-party validation, human shutdown capability and chatbot data privacy [3]. amNY added proposals for whistleblower incentives and 24-hour incident reporting [2]. Earlier coverage of the package cited a $25,000 per-instance fine for the broadest measure.
City officials acknowledged that the Council has no authority to regulate private-sector AI development directly, The City Reporter said, noting that the Trump administration has favored voluntary commitments from industry over regulation [1].
Sources
[1] Council Grills AI Leaders and Whistleblowers in Marathon Hearing — The City Reporter, 5 Oct 2026
[2] AI giants give few clear answers to key safety questions at NYC Council hearing amid whistleblower warnings — amNY, 5 Oct 2026
[3] New York City Council holds landmark AI oversight hearing — CBS News New York, 5 Oct 2026