Rivals duking it out for AI supremacy is the story of the tech world. But its increasingly becoming a key narrative in American politics too.
Instead of posturing for space on your phone's homescreen, OpenAI and Anthropic are squaring up for the US midterm elections, wielding their capital to bolster political action committees that back their preferred AI policies.
Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), the $380 billion-valued company behind the large language model Claude, and which bills itself as the AI startup preoccupied with safety and responsibility, said it was giving $20 million to a new super-PAC operation that stands in opposition to political groups aligned with OpenAI leaders and investors.
The move is a response to the creation of a new network of pro-AI fundraising and lobbying, helmed by Silicon Valley luminaries that include OpenAI president Greg Brockman.
Where the leaders of the ChatGPT maker are pushing for a hands-off approach to AI regulation, emphasizing the need for American competitiveness and innovation, Anthropic advocates for AI safety.
The competing visions are playing out in their products, but also in public policy debates and financial support for candidates who back their respective agendas. In broad terms, Anthropic and its leaders are agitating for more rules, while OpenAI's leadership and allies want fewer.
"AI is being adopted faster than any technology in history, and the window to get policy right is closing," Anthropic said in a company blog post announcing the contribution. "Yet there are no official guardrails in place and no federal framework on the horizon."
The funding highlights conflicting AI policy views and how the biggest players in tech are entwined in emerging political fights. Because generative AI is both a new technology and a novel battleground for regulation, the arena of conflict isn't already demarcated. The battle lines don't neatly fit left-right divides, creating novel alliances and disagreements.
Trump is notably against states attempting to curtail AI development, but others within his party, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor of the Volunteer State, prefer AI guardrails. Public First, the group receiving Anthropic's donation, is launching an ad in support of Blackburn.
AI's land and energy demands have created another political flash point. Elections last year in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia featured frustration over rising power bills, an issue seen as a precursor to a national debate in elections to come.
Several states are contemplating AI bills to establish new rules for the technology, but the White House and its allies have argued that state-by-state regulation would create a patchwork of regulatory regimes that would stymie innovation.
But in the absence of congressional action, state governments view themselves as the vanguard of consumer protections. They see the social harms created by social media as a cautionary tale.
Now, opposing AI forces are scrambling to impose their agendas while the next tech disruption takes shape.