At an October 5, 2026, New York City Council hearing, former employees of Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind warned that AI development may be outpacing companies’ ability to keep advanced systems under control. Representatives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta pointed to safety work and the benefits of current AI tools. The Council was considering possible disclosure, independent-approval and whistleblower-reward measures; the account does not establish that any became law.
What AI insiders told the NYC Council
The hearing brought two perspectives into the same debate. Former employees raised concerns about the pace and governance of AI development, including whether safeguards can keep pace with increasingly capable systems. Company representatives emphasized existing safety efforts and the benefits of current systems. Those statements describe the speakers’ positions, not an independent finding about the safety of any particular model.
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Former employees warned about pace and control
Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic engineer, criticized what he described as a startup culture of moving quickly and fixing problems later: “The companies run on a startup mindset: Move fast, break things, fix them later. That works for a photo sharing app. It does not work for building the most powerful technology ever built.”
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Coxon also made a stark prediction about the direction of development: “On the current path, I think it is more likely than not that humanity loses control to these AIs and it could end in human extinction.” That is Coxon’s forecast, not a measured probability or a finding established at the hearing.
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Company representatives emphasized safety work
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta were represented by company staff on a separate panel. Morgan Dwyer of OpenAI said, “I share your commitment to ensuring that technology is developed safely and that its benefits are widely shared.” Logan Graham of Anthropic acknowledged the stakes, saying, “AI is powerful enough that getting this wrong has real consequences, for individuals, institutions, public trust,” and, “We have to work relentlessly to do the science of mitigating the risks.”
The report also says Anthropic and OpenAI have said advanced AI products need regulation. The hearing account, however, does not detail the companies’ specific safety measures or evaluate their effectiveness.
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Why the hearing’s risk exchange drew attention
Council Speaker Julie Menin asked company representatives to put a number on the risk of a worst-case catastrophic scenario. Dwyer said he did not know the probability. He added that even a 1%, 10% or 20% chance would be unacceptable and argued that models should not be trained without an extremely strong case that they can remain under human control.
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Those percentages were hypothetical examples in the exchange, not estimates of AI risk. Menin called Dwyer’s response “flippant at best.” Dwyer then said the exact percentage mattered less than OpenAI’s commitment to safety. The exchange exposed a difference in emphasis: Menin pressed for a quantifiable answer, while Dwyer stressed a safety commitment without supplying a probability.
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What AI safety rules NYC was considering
At the time of the Associated Press report, the Council was considering three kinds of proposals. The report does not provide bill numbers, full text, sponsors or implementation details, so their precise scope and oversight arrangements are not established.
| Proposed tool | What it would do | What the report establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Require information about AI tools to be disclosed. | The Council was considering this requirement; the report does not specify what information, who must disclose it or to whom. |
| Third-party approval | Require an outside party to approve AI systems used by the city. | The proposal concerns systems used by the city; the report does not identify the approver, review criteria or approval process. |
| Whistleblower rewards | Allow whistleblowers to receive a portion of fines against AI companies that break laws. | The proposal would link a reward to fines, but the report does not state how claims or awards would be administered. |
These were proposals under consideration, not requirements the report says had been enacted. The report also mentions New York Gov. Kathy Hochul moving toward AI reporting and transparency standards, but does not establish their details or legal status. That reference is not enough to determine how those standards relate to the Council proposals.
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What the hearing does—and does not—show
The hearing made the disagreement concrete: former employees called for stronger attention to pace, transparency, safeguards and human control, while company representatives described safety work and the value of current systems. The sharpest exchange did not produce a quantified estimate of catastrophic risk, and the report supplies no empirical statistic that resolves the competing claims.
Nor does the account establish the fate of the Council proposals or what rules, if any, followed the hearing. It records a policy debate and a set of ideas being considered, not a completed regulatory change.
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