Ethics and safety·October 16, 2026, 21:21

New York City subpoenas SpaceXAI after it ignored AI hearing invitation

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The New York City Council issued a subpoena to SpaceXAI because it was the only invited AI company that did not respond to the invitation to a hearing on AI safety. The company's Grok chatbot later came under critical scrutiny.

The New York City Council has issued a subpoena to SpaceXAI. The company was the only one of the invited AI companies that did not respond to the council's request to appear at a hearing on AI safety, according to City & State New York.

According to the paper, it was the first time Council Speaker Julie Menin had used the council's subpoena power since becoming speaker. A subpoena is a formal order to appear or hand over information.

The October 5 hearing

According to the council, the hearing was held on October 5, 2026, as a meeting with all 51 council members, and SpaceXAI did not show up. Meta appeared voluntarily. Google and Anthropic initially declined, while OpenAI had not confirmed. All three confirmed their participation when the council threatened subpoenas.

If SpaceXAI does not comply with the subpoena, the council can seek to have it enforced in New York State court and possibly demand sanctions for civil contempt. That is a possibility, not something that has happened.

Among other things, the council considered proposals for a program that provides incentives for whistleblowers, a right for citizens harmed by AI agents to file lawsuits, and requirements for independent oversight of AI systems.

Questions about Grok

On a Friday after the October 5 hearing, SpaceXAI was represented by Gabriela Castillo Madrid, its global head of public affairs policy. According to a transcript from Briefs.co, Menin confronted her with the claim that council staff had gotten the Grok chatbot to quickly display a sexualized image of Menin when they searched her name. That is Menin's own description. SpaceXAI has neither confirmed nor denied the image.

Castillo Madrid maintained that the company has "strict controls," but said the safety team would look into the specific case.

Former xAI employee Devin Kim testified that he built systems for training Grok and raised safety risks starting in January 2025. According to Kim, his manager dismissed his concerns by saying AI safety was useless. That is Kim's own claim. He also said that only three people worked on AI safety while he was employed, and that many left the company after his departure.

SpaceX now operates Grok following a merger with xAI in February. A British member of parliament has also sued xAI, alleging that Grok users created sexualized images of her without consent.