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As Washington dithers on AI safety, OpenAI’s top lobbyist is persuading blue states to pass laws that advance his plan for a national AI framework — and he says he’s just getting started.
Chris Lehane delivers a speech at the Africa Travel Summit, on Sept. 12, 2018, in Cape Town. | Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images
The artificial intelligence industry’s push for tech-friendly federal legislation is foundering in Washington. So OpenAI’s top lobbyist and political strategist is pursuing a backup strategy — setting national AI policy by waging a state-by-state campaign.
Chris Lehane calls the plan “reverse federalism”: With Capitol Hill deadlocked, the company behind ChatGPT is increasingly spending its time lobbying for state legislatures to pass laws on AI safety that the industry can live with. OpenAI’s quest to shape policies in a “critical mass” of states has already found success in California and New York, he said — with Illinois as its next target.
