AI Whistleblower Coxon to Testify at New York City Council Hearing
Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who raised concerns about the potential for artificial intelligence to surpass human control, is scheduled to testify at a New York City Council hearing on Monday. He will join representatives from major AI companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Coxon, who left Anthropic last month, accused his former employer and OpenAI of “gambling with our lives” due to the rapid development of powerful AI technologies.
The hearing, organized by Council Speaker Julie Menin, aims to gather insights from AI whistleblowers as lawmakers consider legislation to establish safeguards around the technology. Other expected testifiers include former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner and Daniel Kokotajlo, executive director of the AI Futures Project and a former OpenAI researcher.
New York officials are pushing for a more significant role in regulating the AI industry, which has grown rapidly in the city. Proposed measures include allowing whistleblowers to share in fines recovered from AI companies, enabling lawsuits against developers for harm caused by AI systems, and requiring third-party validation of certain AI systems before deployment.
OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google agreed to participate after facing potential subpoenas, while Meta had already committed to attending. The Council also subpoenaed SpaceX’s AI unit after the company failed to respond to requests to appear.