Representatives for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta testified remotely at an hours-long City Council hearing Monday, facing hostile questions about artificial intelligence hacking the government, leaking data, misleading consumers and fomenting extremism. The Elon Musk-owned SpaceXAI ignored the Council's requests even after receiving a subpoena. Speaker Julie Menin said the company replied with a letter indicating it wanted to work with the Council, but she rejected that response: "To be clear, the only response to the subpoena should be that they should be here today to testify."
The hearing included oral testimony from an anticipated 69 witnesses across 14 panels, including Mamdani administration officials and industry whistleblowers. The Council also weighed 10 new bills and resolutions aimed at reining in the industry. Whistleblower Jacob Coxon, who announced his resignation from Anthropic last month, told the Council that on the current path it is more likely than not that humanity loses control to AIs and it can end in human extinction. Representatives from the four companies largely ducked direct questions on potential perils, with Councilmember Shekar Krishnan criticizing their inability to answer specific questions about risks to city pension systems.
The hearing was framed as the first opportunity by a legislative body anywhere to compel answers from prominent AI companies on public risks. But the City Council's powers are limited: it cannot grant broad government oversight or industry-wide regulations, and the city's Office of Technology and Innovation has no regulatory power over the private sector or consumer products. The introduced bills largely concern stepping up the Mamdani administration's AI readiness to prevent attacks from rogue agents, which one citywide official said has already happened.
What remains unknown is whether the Council will succeed in compelling SpaceXAI testimony. Menin said the Council is pursuing legal action and would have to file a lawsuit or special proceeding in state court to compel testimony from leaders of the $3.2 trillion company. SpaceXAI did not respond to The City Reporter's request for comment. The hearing also stretched late: the Council only began questioning Mamdani administration officials around 4:30 p.m., five hours after it began, with more than 60 other industry experts still waiting to speak.