Speaker Julie Menin Announces that SpaceXAI Agrees to Testify on Artificial Intelligence Safety Following Subpoena

Hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 before the City Council's Committee on Technology following testimony last week by four major AI firms

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

"Last Monday, we held a major, hours-long hearing with whistleblowers, the world's largest tech companies, and the nation's foremost experts in AI," said Speaker Julie Menin. "Conspicuously 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's commitment to appear before the public in the coming week."

"SpaceXAI tried to circumvent our city's public conversation on the dangers of AI, and we are prepared to ask similar questions expecting better responses. With the proliferation of Elon Musk's 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," said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, Chair of the Committee on Technology. "We look forward to the continuation of an important conversation that has impacted the lives of every New Yorker."

Every council member will have the opportunity to attend the hearing and ask questions to the company.

Last Monday, Speaker Menin convened 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 lasted nearly 10 hours, with 46 Council Members participating in the hearing throughout the day.

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.

During the hearing, Jess Asato MP - 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 - spoke to the urgent need for stronger safeguards to protect the public from the potential harms of artificial intelligence.

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.

By September 27, four of the five had committed to participate. On September 28, the Council issued a subpoena to SpaceXAI.

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.

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