Techies from both sides of the AI safety debate are pouring a fortune into next month’s midterms, with at least $48 million reportedly going to pols poised to crack down on the burgeoning tech.
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million → pour → tech
Tech-worker-backed AI safety group Guardrails Alliance, which has raised $11.7 million, is among the groups funneling cash to candidates in favor of regulations, Axios reported Wednesday.
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Axios → back → regulations
OpenAI’s Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe – who has said he’s interested in “mitigating catastrophic risks” – has given about $400,000 to political action group Dream NYC.
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he → say → NYC
It previously funneled some $2.5 million to New York State Assemblyman Alex Bores, a prominent AI safety supporter, for his failed campaign, according to AI site Transformer.
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It → funnel → Transformer
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, one of the most prominent techies voicing alarm over AI, has committed $1 million to safety-focused political group Public First.
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Amodei → voice → First
It backs candidates who want to slow down or regulate AI development.
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who → back → development
AI safety doomers have donated at least $41,000 to Democrat Peggy Flanagan – a Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Senate candidate in Minnesota who has called AI an “existential threat” to humanity, as The Post previously reported.
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Post → donate → humanity
Meanwhile, anti-regulation, pro-innovation groups have pumped massive sums to their campaigns of choice.
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groups → pump → choice
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman have plowed $25 million and $12.5 million, respectively, into super PAC Leading the Future.
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Andreessen → plow → Leading
It has used its war chest of $149 million to support candidates like moderate pro-business Democrat Melissa Bean in her Illinois congressional district, according to Transformer.
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It → use → Transformer
The donations come amid a fierce debate over AI safety – with top companies including Anthropic and OpenAI advocating for development slowdowns even as they race to advance their own technology.
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they → come → technology
Meanwhile, warnings that AI could harm humanity — and opposition to the massive data centers powering the tech — have only grown louder on both sides of the aisle.
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AI → harm → aisle
Pro-AI safety donors include Aryan Bhatt, who works at Redwood Research, a Berkeley, Calif.-based group with cozy ties to AI giant Anthropic.
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who → include → Anthropic
The research firm co-authored a bombshell report last month detailing how a swarm of rogue OpenAI agents hacked rival firm Hugging Face, according to campaign finance reports.
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swarm → co → reports
Bhatt has donated to congressional candidates including House Republican Bill Huizenga, who has advocated for strict AI guardrails focused on national security, according to OpenSecrets.
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who → donate → OpenSecrets
Pro-regulation Public First Action has distributed funds to other PACs supporting a range of candidates.
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Action → distribute → candidates
Contributions include $1.6 million to North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee, a Dem, and nearly $1.5 million to Texas congressional candidate Carlos De La Cruz, a Republican, according to Transformer.
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Contributions → include → Transformer
Guardrails Alliance has shoveled money to opponents of candidates pushing tech growth – including $412,500 againt Republican Aaron Flint in a House race in Montana, according to OpenSecrets.
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Report → shovel → news
Overall, pro-safety donors told Axios they aren’t motivated by party affiliation so much as wanting to competing with tech giants pouring millions into electing pro-innovation candidates.
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they → tell → candidates
Leading the Future told Axios is wants to cultivate a broad coalition because tighter AI regulation will need 60 votes to pass in the Senate.
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regulation → lead → Senate
The polarizing topic has led some donors to pull back – Brockman reportedly nixed a planned second $25 million donation from tech bigwig-backed super PAC Leading the Future after internal revolt at OpenAI.
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Brockman → lead → OpenAI
The Aporia
