Representatives for some of the country’s AI giants were on the digital hot seat Monday, answering sometimes hostile questions from the City Council about artificial intelligence hacking the government, leaking data, misleading consumers and fomenting extremism.
Representatives for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta all testified at the hours-long hearing, while the Elon Musk-owned SpaceXAI ignored the Council’s requests, even after receiving a subpoena.
Speaker Julie Menin says she’ll see the multibillionaire’s company in court.
At a press conference ahead of the hearing, Menin said SpaceXAI had replied to the subpoena “with a letter indicating that they want to work with us.”
“To be clear, the only response to the subpoena should be that they should be here today to testify,” she added. “They are opting not to do that, so we are pursuing legal action.”
The City Council 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.
Lawmakers grilled representatives for the other four companies — all of whom testified remotely via video call — in an hourslong hearing with oral testimony from an anticipated 69 witnesses spanning 14 panels, including Mamdani administration officials and industry whistleblowers. The Council also weighed 10 new bills and resolutions aimed at reining in the industry.
The first to testify...
THE BILLING GRID A weekly column on research billing and coverage analysis, by Krishma Shah A coordinator submits a lab requisition. The central lab bills it to the site. The site bills it to Medi...