{"id":3295,"date":"2026-10-13T08:13:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/?p=3295"},"modified":"2026-10-13T08:13:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:13:19","slug":"speaker-julie-menin-announces-that-spacexai-agrees-to-testify-on-artificial-intelligence-safety-following-subpoena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2026\/10\/13\/3295\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaker Julie Menin Announces that SpaceXAI Agrees to Testify on Artificial Intelligence Safety Following Subpoena"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 before the City Council\u2019s Committee on Technology following testimony last week by four major AI firms<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013<\/strong> New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin today announced that she has secured a commitment from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceXAI to testify at an upcoming City Council hearing on AI safety. The commitment to appear before the Council\u2019s Committee on Technology on Friday, October 16, at 10 a.m. comes after the Speaker issued a subpoena compelling the firm\u2019s testimony, followed by subsequent conversations about the Council\u2019s intention to have it enforced by a state judge.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Monday, we held a major, hours-long hearing with whistleblowers, the world\u2019s largest tech companies, and the nation\u2019s foremost experts in AI,\u201d said Speaker Julie Menin.<\/strong> \u201cConspicuously absent was SpaceXAI, which is unacceptable. New Yorkers and the public at large deserve to hear directly from the companies developing this powerful technology about the safeguards they are putting in place to protect people from harm and how they will be held accountable when those safeguards fail. Self-regulation is not enough, and I am glad that we have now secured SpaceXAI\u2019s commitment to appear before the public in the coming week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpaceXAI tried to circumvent our city\u2019s public conversation on the dangers of AI, and we are prepared to ask similar questions expecting better responses. With the proliferation of Elon Musk\u2019s technology at the federal level, it is even more important they come to the discussion with robust context about data privacy, safeguards, and whistleblower protections,\u201d said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, Chair of the Committee on Technology.<\/strong> \u201cWe look forward to the continuation of an important conversation that has impacted the lives of every New Yorker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every council member will have the opportunity to attend the hearing and ask questions to the company.<\/p>\n

Last Monday, Speaker Menin convened a rare Committee of the Whole hearing<\/a> to examine the risks posed by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and the potential safeguards needed to protect New Yorkers. The hearing lasted nearly 10 hours, with 46 Council Members participating in the hearing throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Senior representatives from Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI all agreed to testify before the Council, with only SpaceXAI declining to participate. The hearing also included testimony under oath from major industry whistleblowers, including Jacob Coxon, Daniel Kokotajlo, and Alex Turner.<\/p>\n

During the hearing, Jess Asato MP \u2014 a Member of the British Parliament who is currently engaged in a legal dispute with SpaceXAI and who traveled from the United Kingdom to testify in person \u2014 spoke to the urgent need<\/a> for stronger safeguards to protect the public from the potential harms of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Between September 15 and 17, Speaker Menin sent letters to the five companies requesting that they voluntarily participate in the hearing and provide public testimony before the Council.<\/p>\n

By September 27, four of the five had committed to participate. On September 28, the Council issued a subpoena to SpaceXAI.<\/p>\n

After failing to comply with the subpoena and appear at the October 5 hearing, the Council informed SpaceXAI that it would file a petition in the New York State Supreme Court to enforce the subpoena. Following that communication, SpaceXAI requested a meeting with the Council on October 7 and subsequently agreed to appear at an upcoming hearing.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 before the City Council\u2019s Committee on Technology following testimony last week by four major AI firms<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013<\/strong> New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin today announced that she has secured a commitment from Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceXAI to testify at an upcoming City Council hearing on AI safety.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

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