OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic face legal questions at NYC hearing

Four of the most powerful AI companies on the planet sat down in front of the New York City Council and took questions under oath. The questions were about who pays if things go catastrophically wrong. On October 5, 2026, the council convened a Committee of the Whole hearing, a format in which the full legislative body sits together as a single committee. Executives from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Anthropic gave sworn testimony on AI safety and the potential for catastrophic outcomes. The hearing ran alongside discussion of 10 local AI-related bills aimed at tightening oversight of the labs building these systems. Menin wanted numbers. She got hedging. Council Speaker Julie Menin led the questioning, and her line of attack was simple. Can these companies actually quantify the risks they are talking about? One risk she focused on was loss of control over AI models. That is the scenario where a system stops doing what its builders intended, and nobody can easily pull it back. Menin also asked a pair of follow-ups that cut to the financial heart of the matter. Would these companies accept legal responsibility for a catastrophic incident? Would they provide insurance to cover one? The e...