By Emily Birnbaum, Bloomberg
Anthropic PBC is donating $20 million to a political advocacy group called Public First that’s backing congressional candidates who favor safety rules for artificial intelligence, bolstering the company’s fight for “responsible AI” as Silicon Valley money floods into congressional races across the US.
The donation promises to strengthen AI safety advocates’ fight against Leading the Future, a billionaire-backed super political action committee that plans to spend $125 million this year to stack Congress with allies who support lighter regulation of the technology.
“In circumstances like these, we need good policy: flexible regulation that allows us to reap the benefits of AI, keep the risks in check, and keep America ahead in the AI race,” Anthropic wrote in a blog post published Thursday morning. “We don’t want to sit on the sidelines while these policies are developed.”
The company wrote in its post that the contribution is “part of our commitment to governance that enables AI’s transformative potential and helps proportionately manage its risks.”
Anthropic has set itself apart from rivals, including OpenAI, by pushing for stringent AI regulations. OpenAI and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz have lobbied aggressively against state AI safety rules across the country, arguing they could hamper innovation and imperil the US in its technology race against China.
Anthropic, meanwhile, has urged caution as AI becomes part of daily life. “At present, there are few organized efforts to help mobilize people and politicians who understand what’s at stake in AI development,” Anthropic wrote. “Instead, vast resources have flowed to political organizations that oppose these efforts.”
Public First Action has pledged to support candidates who favor AI regulations in the “public interest.” The group on Thursday announced it’s launching an ad campaign to support Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who’s running for Tennessee governor. An affiliated super political action committee, Defending Our Values PAC, will run ads supporting Nebraska Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, who is running for reelection.
The ad campaigns will highlight Blackburn and Ricketts’ calls to rein in the AI industry. Ads for Blackburn will focus on her work promoting the children’s online safety legislation during her time in Congress, while the campaign for Ricketts will promote his support for export controls that keep AI chips away from foreign adversaries like China, according to Public First.
Public First Action didn’t specify how much it’s spending on the ad campaigns. The group has yet to disclose how much money it has raised beyond the $20 million from Anthropic.
Anthropic’s pledge comes as pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, whose backers include OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz, unleashes its war chest on races across the country. Leading the Future, which says it has $70 million on hand and tens of millions of dollars more committed, is spending to boost candidates who share its vision for industry-friendly rules and oppose candidates who favor more stringent government oversight.
Leading the Future and its two affiliated PACs have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on campaigns opposing an AI safety advocate running for Congress in New York and supporting an Elon Musk ally in Texas. The group on Wednesday announced it will spend half a million dollars to boost a Republican in North Carolina and “seven figures” to support two Democratic candidates in Illinois.
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