AI Executives to Testify Under Oath Before New York City Council on Monday

Representatives of four of the world’s biggest artificial intelligence companies will testify under oath before the New York City Council on Monday, in what officials describe as the first sworn public testimony by major AI firms before a US legislature.

The hearing, set for October 5, will convene all 51 members of the Council in a rare Committee of the Whole session to examine the risks of rapidly advancing AI and to review proposed city legislation, according to a September 28 announcement by Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta have each agreed to send representatives, though three of the four — everyone but Meta — only confirmed their attendance after Menin threatened to use the Council’s subpoena power, according to the Council. Meta agreed to appear voluntarily. Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI, the only other invited company, did not respond to the Council’s outreach, and Menin has issued a rare subpoena compelling it to appear; the Council says it will seek enforcement through the New York State Supreme Court if the company refuses.

Menin said the hearing follows weeks of warnings from whistleblowers and AI executives about the dangers of increasingly autonomous AI systems, as well as reports that rogue AI agents have already damaged government databases.

“Leading experts and AI executives themselves are warning about the potentially grave risks of rapidly advancing AI, and governments have a responsibility to act,” Menin said in the announcement. “These firms owe it to the public to come before the Council, answer our questions, and provide input on our proposed legislation under oath.”

The Council is weighing a legislative package that includes a whistleblower incentive programme, a private right of action for people harmed by AI agents, requirements for independent validation of high-risk AI systems, human “kill switches”, and mandatory reporting of covered safety incidents involving city contracts within 24 hours, according to Tech Times.

Sources:
https://council.nyc.gov/press/2026/09/28/3266/ — New York City Council press release
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/328300/20260930/nyc-council-first-compel-ai-testimony-under-oath-congress-stays-blocked.htm — Tech Times
https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/headlines/405965/openai-anthropic-google-and-meta-to-testify-before-new-york-city-council-on-ai-risks — Eastleigh Voice