AI Firm Anthropic Donates $20 Million To Support AI Regulation Lobbying

AI giant Anthropic will donate $20 million to a lobbying organization that supports AI regulation, according to a company statement released on Wednesday, its latest move to influence US policy on the technology.

The company is donating to Public First Action, a political group that advocates for "mitigating major AI risks," according to its website. The amount is in addition to $20 million the company gave the organization in February.

The donation is the latest attempt by the AI sector to increase its influence over US policy, as the federal government considers more oversight of the sector. Several states have already passed AI-related laws, and others are considering similar measures.

In addition to lobbying US officials, Public First Action also supports two political action committees that give money to candidates who support their agenda. Those committees have donated to Republican US Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Democratic US House candidate Brian Poindexter of Ohio, and Republican US Senate candidate Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, among other candidates for federal office, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Reuters.

In a statement, an Anthropic spokesperson said the donation "cannot be used to influence the election of any candidate for federal, state or local office."

Public First Action is a tax-exempt political group. Federal law allows those organizations to run issue advertisements, which focus on a political topic instead of encouraging viewers to vote for a specific candidate.

Two former members of Congress launched Public First Action late last year to counter the political group Leading the Future, which generally opposes strict AI regulations. Leading the Future is backed by AI industry executives such as OpenAI President Greg Brockman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Andreessen's firm, A16Z, is an investor in OpenAI, an Anthropic rival.

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