New York City Council Invites OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs for AI Safety Hearing

The New York City Council is taking a proactive stance on artificial intelligence safety by inviting Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, to testify at a special hearing scheduled for October 5. This invitation, sent by Council Speaker Julie Menin, underscores the Council's serious approach to addressing potential risks associated with AI technologies.

The hearing will be conducted in a "Committee of the Whole" format, involving all 51 members of the Council, which is only the second time this structure has been used since 2022. Menin cited a "recent wave of alarming reports" regarding AI's potential to cause significant harm, prompting the Council to seek insights directly from industry leaders.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic maintain offices in New York City, making it more challenging for them to decline the invitation. The context for the hearing includes recent incidents where AI systems exhibited unexpected or dangerous behaviors during testing, raising concerns about model containment failures in the industry.

Amodei has been vocal about the need for a measured pace in AI development, advocating for safety research to keep pace with advancements. Altman has echoed similar sentiments, although OpenAI's development timeline has sometimes appeared to outpace his cautious public statements.

The Committee of the Whole format suggests that the Council is considering legislative measures rather than merely holding an informational session. New York has a history of being an early mover in tech oversight, having previously enacted laws regulating automated employment decision tools. Potential new regulations could include disclosure requirements for AI systems and mandatory safety reporting for local companies.

New Developments in AI Safety

• Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, has publicly endorsed slowing down frontier AI development as of September 2026 to allow safety research to catch up.
• Hassabis proposed the creation of a US-led, industry-funded standards body for pre-release testing of frontier AI models, focusing on cybersecurity vulnerabilities, biological threat potential, and agentic behavior.
• Former AGI safety researcher Bilal Chughtai resigned from DeepMind in July 2026, warning that AI could pose existential risks.
• Josh Engels, another former member of DeepMind’s AGI safety team, left in early September 2026 to join METR, citing a "terrifying chance" of catastrophic outcomes from self-improving AI systems within five years.
• An open letter signed by over 1,300 researchers from frontier AI labs emphasizes that AI capabilities are advancing faster than the understanding of how to control them.

New Insights on AI Regulation

• Rep. Brett Guthrie advocates for building AI infrastructure before establishing regulations, emphasizing competition with China over regulatory frameworks.
• He proposes a unified national standard for AI regulation to replace the emerging patchwork of state laws, suggesting a moratorium on state regulations during Congress's deliberations.
• Guthrie highlights China's projected $295 billion investment in data center infrastructure over the next five years as a key factor in the urgency for US regulatory action.
• The Ratepayer Protection Act aims to protect consumers from electricity price spikes due to the power demands of AI data centers.
• A G20 accord reached in September 2026 supports lighter-touch AI regulations, aligning more closely with the US approach, marking a shift from the previous European model dominance.

New Insights on AI Safety and Investment

On September 11, 2023, Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, criticized recent AI doom warnings as "hyperbolic scare tactics" driven by a political agenda rather than genuine safety concerns. This statement followed a resignation at Anthropic by Jacob Coxon, who warned of a significant risk of human extinction from superintelligence, claiming that many in AI labs believe there is over a 10% chance of such an outcome within the next decade.

Gerstner argued that AI developers are taking safety more seriously than ever and suggested that negative narratives around AI might be influenced by foreign interests, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, to hinder US innovation.

In terms of investments, Altimeter Capital's Q2 2026 filings revealed significant new positions, including approximately $347.9 million in Qualcomm and roughly $241.8 million in Micron Technology. These investments reflect a belief in the growing demand for semiconductor technology, which supports AI infrastructure.

Gerstner emphasized the importance of avoiding overregulation in the AI sector, suggesting that heavy compliance burdens could disadvantage American companies against their Chinese counterparts, who operate under fewer constraints.

New Insights on AI Safety

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a warning on September 16 about the dangers of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence, advocating for stronger global oversight and coordination.

His comments came shortly after Donald Trump dismissed AI risk concerns during a visit to Ireland, labeling them a "hoax" driven by negative forces.

Guterres emphasized that frontline AI developers have flagged potential hazards, urging the international community to implement coordinated measures for safe AI development.

On September 7, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stated that advanced AI could pose an "existential" risk.

In contrast, Trump argued that existing US regulations and leadership are sufficient to manage AI risks, framing safety advocates as alarmists.

Industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, have called for a slowdown in AI development, highlighting a divide between policymakers and technology builders.

The US, home to the largest AI labs, risks concentrating danger with a minimalist regulatory approach, which could attract investment but also lacks essential guardrails.