New PAC Joins Big Tech’s Lobbying Push to Weaken AI Safeguards
Washington, D.C. — On Tuesday, Politico reported that Meta is launching a super PAC in California that supports candidates who oppose regulating AI. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal also reported that venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI’s president are among those launching a nation-wide super PAC network similarly aimed at opposing regulation of AI. The launch of these PACs follows reporting from Reuters that Meta’s internal guidelines allowed its own AI chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.” Reuters also reported that a Meta created a flirty AI chatbot that lured a stroke victim to make an ultimately fatal trip to New York. Additionally, the New York Times reported today that ChatGPT told a suicidal teen, “Please don’t leave the noose out. Let’s make this space the first place where someone actually sees you.” Demand Progress led a campaign opposing legislation that would have imposed a 10-year moratorium on state and local AI laws.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Policy Director Emily Peterson-Cassin:
“Big Tech let AI flirt with minors, lead a stroke victim to his death and dissuade a suicidal teen from seeking help and now they’re spending millions to support candidates who will let them keep doing this. Their shameless drive for power and profit over the safety of everyday people is breathtaking. It’s clear that Big Tech’s failed push to get Congress to wipe out all state and local AI laws for an entire decade was just the tip of the spear. Big Tech won’t stop until they buy enough politicians to give them free rein to prematurely unleash their half-baked AI on all of us. We must fight back on every level to protect commonsense safeguards for AI that protect the American people from dangerously primitive chatbots and deepfaked revenge porn.”