What happened
Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, has published an essay arguing that the 2028 presidential election could prove pivotal for AI, TechCrunch reported. He urges politicians to write policies that respond to public worries about the technology instead of merely echoing opposition to AI and data centers, and likens AI's possible economic impact to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1930s New Deal.
The essay lists five priorities spanning worker protections, education, AI safety and data center development. Ideas include tax incentives for workers to gain AI skills, easier capital for entrepreneurs, and new employee ownership and profit-sharing models. Lehane also wants public oversight, independent testing, binding safety standards and a way to switch systems off. He warned that backing a data center moratorium could put America's lead over China at risk.
Kate Brennan, the AI Now Institute's lead on AI and corporate power policy, said the essay departs from OpenAI's agenda last year, which centered on faster development and fewer regulatory barriers. She called the New Deal comparison ahistorical and the safety stances disingenuous, and suggested measures such as a revised corporate tax rate or incentives to hire people. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Context
The essay follows midterm elections in which Democrats won control of Congress amid voter frustration over living costs, and data center opposition surfaced as a bipartisan issue in several races. In 2024 OpenAI opposed California's SB 1047, and last year it pushed to limit state regulation. It has since backed several state safety laws and signaled openness to having independent evaluators work inside the company.
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