New York City Council Convenes Hearing on Artificial Intelligence Risks with Testimony from AI Executives, Whistleblowers, Experts

Findings from the hearing highlight need for further safeguards to protect New Yorkers as New York City looks to be a blueprint for regulatory action

NEW YORK - New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Council colleagues held a rare Committee of the Whole hearing to examine the risks posed by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and the potential safeguards needed to protect New Yorkers. The hearing began at 11 a.m. and is expected to run late into the evening. Roughly 40 Council Members participated in the hearing throughout the day.

Council Members were able to question senior policy executives at leading AI companies under oath on a host of safety issues. The panel included Morgan Dwyer, head of policy development and operations at OpenAI; Shane Cahill, director for privacy and AI legislation at Meta; Alice Friend, Director of AI and Emerging Tech Policy for Google; and Logan Graham, head of the frontier red team at Anthropic.

During the company testimony, Speaker Menin asked each company representative to "quantify the risk posed by AI in the worst-case catastrophic scenario."

The hearing included former Anthropic researcher and whistleblower Jacob Coxon, who told the Council that "on the current path… it is more likely than not that humanity loses control to these AIs, and it could end in human extinction." The whistleblower panel also included former OpenAI researcher Daniel Koktoajlo and former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner.

The hearing was slated to included testimony from leading national experts in AI safety, technology, and consumer protection, City agencies and elected officials, and members of the public.

"When the federal government fails to act, cities take the lead and that's exactly what the New York City Council has done today by holding this unprecedented hearing on AI safety and regulation," said Speaker Julie Menin. "Leading experts and AI executives themselves have been warning about the potentially grave risks of rapidly advancing AI. It is our responsibility as a government to take action to protect New Yorkers. We hope that the critical information we obtained today will not only help safeguard New Yorkers, but will help governments across the country and around the world take the lead in a moment that demands decisive action."

The hours-long convening heard legislative proposals geared towards AI safety, including a nation-leading whistleblower incentive program, private right-of-action, and third-party validation requirements. Additional bills focused on prohibiting the generation of deceptive deepfakes and creating a better understanding of the impacts that algorithmic tools have on job duties.

The Council has already enacted several City laws to protect New Yorkers from risks associated with artificial intelligence. In 2025, the Council passed laws that created an Office of Algorithmic Accountability to review City agency use of AI and algorithmic systems, conduct risk assessments, investigate potential harms, and require corrective action when appropriate; established standards and safeguards governing the development, procurement, and use of AI by City agencies, including requirements related to privacy, civil rights, security, monitoring, and risk management; and required the City to maintain a publicly available inventory of AI systems subject to algorithmic accountability review.

"Artificial intelligence is advancing at a pace that demands government be just as thoughtful and deliberate about the safeguards we put in place. There is tremendous promise in this technology, but innovation cannot come without transparency, accountability and clear responsibility for the companies developing and operating these systems," said Deputy Speaker Dr. Nantasha Williams. "From my enacted legislation examining the impact of AI on our municipal workforce to my current legislation addressing unauthorized AI-generated depictions of public officials and candidates, my focus has been on ensuring that our laws evolve alongside the technology. The larger concern is what increasingly sophisticated AI means for the information New Yorkers rely on, the decisions being made about and for them, and their ability to distinguish what is authentic from what has been manufactured. We cannot place the entire burden on the public to navigate those risks after the technology is already in their hands. As AI continues to evolve, New York City has a responsibility to establish meaningful protections where we have the authority to act."

"Artificial intelligence is moving quickly, and government has a responsibility to make sure accountability keeps pace," said Majority Whip Kamillah Hanks. "When the City uses this technology or contracts with companies that do, New Yorkers should not be left in the dark when something goes wrong. If an AI system puts personal information at risk or creates a serious public safety concern, we need to know about it immediately so we can respond. My legislation creates a clear 24-hour reporting requirement through Cyber Command because transparency after the fact is not enough. As we embrace new technology, protecting New Yorkers has to remain the priority." 

"Our city must be adequately prepared to address all forms of threats, especially those posed by artificial intelligence. I have proposed legislation to ensure city government can detect, defend against, and respond to potential AI-related attacks," said Council Member Chi Ossé. "AI is moving faster than we can predict. Its rapid growth brings many uncertainties, yet leading AI companies are pushing their systems to the limit until they go off the rails. The actions we take now can prevent worst-case scenarios in both the near and long term. I look forward to moving this bill through the legislative process and hearing from experts and stakeholders on how we can fortify our city against emerging technological threats of the 21st century."

"Artificial intelligence has extraordinary potential, but as these products become more powerful and more widely used, we need clear rules for what happens when people are harmed," said Council Member Virginia Maloney, Chair of Committee on Economic Development. "I spent a decade building technology products, and I know how companies identify risks, test safeguards, and make decisions about what they put into the world. My legislation would give New Yorkers a path to seek justice when harmful misuse was foreseeable, an AI provider failed to implement reasonable safeguards, and someone was harmed as a result. New York should be a place where AI companies come to build and grow, and where innovation comes with accountability."

"AI has been moving faster than government so far, and we need commonsense guardrails to keep pace," said Council Member Carl Wilson. "My bill, Intro T2603, will give consumers more information about the safety of AI models and hold companies accountable for misleading claims. We cannot wait for Washington to act, we must act now to protect New Yorkers, support responsible innovation, and make sure no one gets left behind."

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