Powerful A.I. Super PACs Duel Over the Midterms: ‘This Is a War’
One super PAC is allied with Anthropic. The other is tied to OpenAI. They’re both spending millions to influence this year’s elections.
The nastiest relationship in big-money politics is between two super PACs with the same goal: promoting artificial intelligence.
One group is refusing to work with the other, even if they both nominally support the same candidate in some races. Its allies have even pressured members of Congress to distance themselves from the other one.
And the other super PAC? It can’t stop talking smack about its rival.
The wreckage of the civil war includes canceled ad purchases, bruised egos and fearful candidates ducking for cover from the crossfire.
The bad blood between the super PACs comes as powerful Silicon Valley companies race to shape the future of A.I. regulation. The groups are two of the biggest spenders in this year’s midterm elections, laying out nearly $24 million and promising that over $100 million more is on the way.
Their financial duel is effectively a proxy war between two of the biggest A.I. companies, Anthropic and OpenAI. One super PAC, Public First, is allied with Anthropic, while the other, Leading the Future, is aligned with OpenAI.
“The two couldn’t have deeper disdain for one another,” said Cooper Teboe, a Democratic strategist who advises Silicon Valley donors and House campaigns. “This is a war for the future and it will be bloody.”
