Congressman Alex Boaz is interviewed at the Capitol on Monday, May 13, 2024 in Albany, New York.
Will Waldron | Albany Times Union | Getty Images
Two major AI PACs are facing off against each other in the New York congressional race, an early battleground for AI regulation that is expected to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the midterm elections.
Jobs and Democracy PAC, the Democratic arm of the AI regulation advocacy group, is launching a six-figure ad buy in support of New York state Rep. Alex Boaz, the architect of the state’s new AI law. The measure, dubbed the RAISE Act, would require major AI developers to publicly disclose their safety protocols and report significant abuses of their technology.
Boas faces a crowded field in the Democratic primary for New York’s 12th Congressional District. Due to the composition of the districts, the winner of the Democratic primary is likely to win the general election.
Boas was the target of another ad campaign launched last November by Leading the Future, another AI PAC backed by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, AI search engine company Perplexity, SV Angel founder Ron Conway and many others.
“Jobs and Democracy” is part of a larger bipartisan effort by former Congressmen Brad Carson and Chris Stewart to back candidates who support stronger AI regulation. The group, Public First Action, recently received a $20 million donation from Anthropic, which broke with other AI giants calling for stronger regulation.
Earlier this month, Public First Action ran a six-figure ad touting Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) record on AI legislation. Mr. Blackburn is running for governor of Tennessee. The group’s Republican arm, Defending Values PAC, made a six-figure buyout to help Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) win re-election. Mr. Ricketts has introduced legislation that would tighten restrictions on the export of advanced U.S. semiconductors to hostile countries.
The midterm elections are just the latest area where OpenAI and Anthropic are at odds. The two companies clashed over Super Bowl advertising and data center investments.
Much of the debate in Congress over AI regulation has focused on whether to temporarily prohibit states from enforcing certain AI laws to avoid a patchwork of regulations. Proponents of the ban argue that it will slow down the development of AI. But the proposed ban lacked the necessary support from both sides of the aisle.
In December, President Trump signed an executive order penalizing states for certain AI regulations.
