A new political action committee, the Guardrails Alliance, has launched to support AI legislation and counter the influence of big-tech-backed groups. The PAC, founded by Democratic operatives Shaunna Thomas and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, is backed by tech employees, labor unions, and other groups. According to The New York Times, the alliance aims to leverage the discontent of everyday tech workers who are demanding their companies develop and deploy AI responsibly. Thomas told the NYT, “Our fundamental belief here is that people still do have the power to stop this autocratic takeover of the Trump administration and the tech sector.”
The Guardrails Alliance has about $5 million in funds and plans to raise $15 million during this cycle. This is a small amount compared to its opponents, such as Leading the Future, which has more than $100 million in donations from tech leaders like OpenAI President Greg Brockman. The PAC plans to use its funds to support Alex Bores, a New York congressional candidate who is running in the primaries next week. Bores is also receiving support from another pro-legislation super PAC, Public First Action, which has backing from Anthropic. The PAC will buy ads to support Bores, including one featuring the parents of Adam Raine, a teenager who died by suicide after prolonged conversations with ChatGPT.
Tech workers have also mobilized to demand their companies end contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and urge the Pentagon to withdraw its designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk. Critics say the label was imposed without due process in retaliation for Anthropic’s limits on its technology being used for mass surveillance and autonomous warfare. Thomas emphasized that the PAC is not focused on matching Leading the Future’s donations dollar for dollar. Instead, she said, “What this vehicle is meant to do is be a political home for people who are concerned about the way the anti-regulation AI tech sector is trying to manipulate elections.”
Source: techcrunch
