New York City Council puts Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta under oath on Monday, with three former lab researchers among the witnesses

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has called a Committee of the Whole for Monday 5 October that will convene all 51 council members on a package of AI bills. The Council says the hearing brings the first public testimony under oath from major AI firms, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta. ABC7 New York reports that it starts at 11 a.m.

Gothamist, citing the speaker's office, names who the companies are sending: Logan Graham, head of Anthropic's Frontier Red Team; Morgan Dwyer, OpenAI's head of policy development and operations; Shane Cahill, director of Meta's AI policy and legislation; and Alice Friend, Google's global director of AI and emergency tech policy. It also lists three former lab researchers as witnesses: Jacob Coxon (Anthropic), Alex Turner (Google DeepMind) and Daniel Kokotajlo (OpenAI). Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, as carried by Reuters, that Coxon will testify at Menin's request. He left Anthropic last month, accusing it and OpenAI of “gambling with our lives”.

The Council subpoenaed SpaceXAI on 28 September because it had still not responded to the Council's inquiry, and said it could seek enforcement in New York State Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Menin told Gothamist that SpaceXAI responded to the subpoena but will likely not send a representative.

The Council's 25 September release lists ten bills. Intro 2602 would require third-party validation and a human override, which the Council calls a “kill switch”, before an AI system is marketed or deployed in the city, with a $25,000 penalty for each instance. Intro 2600 would give people a private right of action against AI companies. Intro 2601 would make city contractors report AI incidents within 24 hours, and Intro 2605 would give whistleblowers a share of recovered fines.

The hearing begins after this edition was built.

• Confirmed The Council says the hearing brings the first public testimony under oath from major AI firms, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta; SpaceXAI was subpoenaed after it had not responded. New York City Council, 28 September
• Confirmed A Committee of the Whole on 5 October convenes all 51 members on ten bills, including Intro 2602 with a $25,000 penalty for each instance. New York City Council, 25 September
• Reported The four companies' representatives, three former lab researchers as witnesses, and SpaceXAI likely sending no one. Gothamist
• Reported Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon will testify at Menin's request; Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Bloomberg News via Reuters (Investing.com)