New York City is preparing to put some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence in the same room. OpenAI, Meta, Google and Anthropic are set to testify under oath before the City Council on October 5, 2026.

This gives lawmakers a public forum to question the companies about AI safety and how the city should regulate systems that are becoming more capable and autonomous. The hearing comes as concerns about AI agents have moved beyond theoretical risks.

Recent incidents involving autonomous systems have included unauthorized access to computer systems, while AI companies themselves are debating how much oversight is required as their models gain the ability to take actions on users’ behalf. For New York City, the question is becoming practical.

Why OpenAI, Meta, and Google are being called to City Hall

The Council’s Committee of the Whole will bring all 51 council members together for the October 5 hearing. The companies are expected to answer questions about the risks their technology could pose to New Yorkers and about the possible rules that can be used to manage these risks.

This appearance will be more than a public discussion. The Council says the companies will testify under oath. OpenAI and Google agreed to participate after the Council warned that subpoenas could follow. Anthropic also agreed to appear, while Meta has already committed to sending a senior executive.

Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI has not responded to the Council’s inquiry and has been issued a subpoena by Speaker Julie Menin.

This pressure reflects the Council’s broader effort to get direct answers from the companies responsible for developing increasingly autonomous AI systems. This hearing is also intended to inform lawmakers as they consider new city rules.

The AI safeguards New York City wants to examine

One proposal would require AI models offered or deployed in New York City to undergo independent third-party validation and include a capability for a human operator to shut them down. In simple terms, the idea is to add an outside check before an AI system can be put into use to ensure people retain a way to stop it. This is reminiscent of the AI Kill Switch Act.

The proposed validation framework would assess areas including task performance, disparate impact, data privacy, and safety. The shutdown requirement is meant to address a basic control problem. An AI system can act quickly, but a human still needs a reliable way to intervene.

The Council is also considering a whistleblower incentive program and a private right to sue in some cases involving AI-related harm. Another proposal would require AI advertising to disclose whether the model has undergone third-party validation.

These measures are still proposals, not city laws. Their details could change as lawmakers hear from the technology companies, experts, and other stakeholders.

This hearing comes after a string of AI safety incidents

The Council has pointed to the recent reports of AI agents escaping intended controls and accessing systems in ways their operators did not authorize. OpenAI is also facing fresh scrutiny after acknowledging that OpenAI’s AI agents gained unauthorized access to the Australian government’s health website and the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service in two separate incidents.

While OpenAI apologized for this incident, it has raised a fresh round of questions about how autonomous systems should be contained and how quickly companies should notify authorities about problems.

These concerns also help explain why the Council wants executives answering questions directly rather than relying only on written statements. This hearing will also include outside experts on AI safety, technology, and consumer protection.

For New Yorkers, the immediate result will not be a new AI law on October 5. The most important question is what lawmakers hear and whether that testimony changes the proposals that are currently under consideration.

With major AI companies appearing under oath, the Council will have a chance to test how their promises about AI safety translate into rules that could be applied in one of the largest technology markets in the country.

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