A race is on to influence Washington’s artificial intelligence policies as the industry continues to grow and the new administration encourages embracing the technology in the US.
According to an analysis of federal disclosures by the Financial Times, more than 500 organizations have actively lobbied the US Congress and the White House on artificial intelligence policy since the beginning of the year.
That number is consistent with the first half of 2024, but it is a twofold increase from similar interests in 2023, when about 566 organizations lobbied on AI-related issues.
The lobbying is happening as AI stakes heighten
The lobbying has increased over the past two years, highlighting how the AI industry, propped up by Big Tech companies and deep-pocketed investors, is aiming to shape policy at a critical time of intense debate surrounding the technology.
Tony Samp, head of AI policy at law firm DLA Piper and a lobbyist for OpenAI, Boston Dynamics and other companies believes that the US government is uniquely positioned as a gigantic potential customer as well as a public “validator of new technology approaches.”
“Unlike in years past when the government was often viewed as a hindrance, the business community increasingly views the US government as a key partner,” Stamp said.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, while at the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, urged the government to embrace the technology, promising that it will be “able to do everything better.”
OpenAI’s lobbying started as early as 2023 when it spent $380,000, as Washington started to seriously consider ways to regulate the industry. Since then, it has steadily increased its lobbying effort as well as the funds allocated to it.
In the first half of this year alone, the company already spent $1.8 million to influence the White House and Congress. To make the demands more palatable, executives have backed them up with the argument of how it has the potential to add trillions of dollars to the US GDP over the next decade.
Many have also cautioned against the possibility of falling behind China where AI is concerned, something that could happen due to the onerous safety and testing regulations being introduced in Europe.
Big Tech is working hard for the right to innovate in the AI sector
OpenAI is not isolated in its lobbying efforts. Other Big Tech companies are also spending billions per year on developing AI infrastructure, convinced that the technology will have a transformational effect on the global economy.
Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta have all launched numerous initiatives to bolster their AI capabilities. Among them was a campaign to ban states from regulating the technology for a decade, which the US Senate voted 99 to 1 to reject, a significant defeat for the companies advocating for the ban.
There has also been lobbying for government support to build vast data centers and new energy sources to power them.
Meanwhile, some companies like Google and Meta are also seeking the dismissal of some federal antitrust cases that could trigger a forced breakup of their empires. AI start-ups such as OpenAI and Anthropic are also battling lawsuits alleging they steal publishers’ intellectual property to train their models without consent or payment.
AI groups have argued that their use of these works is allowed as “fair use” under copyright law, but the matter is still being debated.
