Media: AI Rulemaking as Power Struggle

The fight over artificial intelligence rules is moving from policy papers to campaign ads, with tech money targeting lawmakers who back tougher guardrails. (nytimes.com) On the April 21 episode of “The Ezra Klein Show,” New York Assemblymember Alex Bores said a super PAC funded by figures tied to Palantir, OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz was spending millions against his congressional campaign. The New York Times video version published April 22 identified the group as opposing Bores over his pro-regulation stance. (youtube.com) (nytimes.com) Bores is not a random target. City & State reported on March 18, 2025, that the 34-year-old lawmaker has a master’s degree in computer science, worked four years at Palantir, and introduced more than a half-dozen artificial intelligence bills in Albany. (cityandstateny.com) The policy fight sits on top of a procurement fight. On April 7, 2025, the White House said new Office of Management and Budget memos on federal agency use and procurement of AI were meant to “remove unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions” and support “a competitive American AI marketplace.” (whitehouse.gov) Those rules matter because Washington is already buying more AI. A Government Accountability Office report released in April 2026 said federal agencies more than doubled their use of AI from 2023 to 2024 and kept acquiring new capabilities through fiscal year 2025. (gao.gov) The same report said agencies are buying AI in different ways: as software products, as ongoing services, through new contracts, and through other agreements outside the standard federal acquisition process. GAO also said agencies were not yet systematically collecting lessons on terms like data rights and testing requirements. (gao.gov) That gives large vendors an opening in rulemaking. In its March 13, 2025 submission to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, OpenAI argued for a “freedom to innovate” approach and warned against “overly burdensome state laws.” (openai.com) Palantir made a parallel case in its response to the Office of Management and Budget’s request for information on responsible AI procurement. The company said federal buyers should build on existing software procurement practices and that government AI buying would not usually require entirely new AI-specific contract vehicles or acquisition pathways. (regulations.gov) (blog.palantir.com) Outside groups are scaling up to shape that environment before Congress writes broader rules. CNBC reported on January 30, 2026, that the super PAC Leading the Future raised $125 million in 2025 and began 2026 with $70 million on hand after spending in New York and Texas races. (cnbc.com) Politico reported on March 6 that Bores’s race had become an early test of whether industry-backed political spending could deter candidates who support stronger AI oversight. In that setup, the question on the podcast was less why one New York lawmaker mattered than how much rulemaking power companies can gain before the rules harden. (politico.com)