Former AI lab employees warn New York City lawmakers about AI risks

Former employees of Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind warned New York City lawmakers about AI risks at a City Council hearing on October 5, according to the Associated Press. They called for stronger oversight and said leading companies are racing to build systems they do not fully understand or control.

The testimony came as city and state governments consider new AI rules. Former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon argued that the race is not a sound basis for building powerful technology. The hearing put worker experience and public governance in the same discussion as product capability and investment.

The event does not establish that a particular system caused harm, and it is not a technical evaluation of frontier models. It does show former lab staff entering local policy debates. Anthropic and OpenAI representatives said they were open to Council suggestions, the AP reported.