NY AI Bill Sponsor Defies a16z Super PAC Targeting Him
▼ Summary
– The pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future, backed by Andreessen Horowitz and tech leaders, is targeting New York Assembly member Alex Bores for his support of AI regulation.
– Bores is the chief sponsor of New York’s bipartisan RAISE Act, which mandates AI safety plans, incident disclosures, and penalties up to $30 million for non-compliance.
– The super PAC plans a multibillion-dollar effort against Bores’ campaign, arguing the RAISE Act threatens U.S. competitiveness and innovation while favoring a national AI framework.
– Bores defends state-level AI regulation, stating it addresses public anxieties and acts as a policy laboratory when federal action is slow or absent.
– He believes AI regulation with basic safety rules promotes trustworthy innovation and has engaged with other states to standardize laws and avoid redundancy with international standards.
A New York lawmaker finds himself at the center of a political storm after a well-funded super PAC backed by major tech investors singled out his congressional campaign. Assembly member Alex Bores, who is running for the 12th Congressional District, became the first target of Leading the Future, a political action committee supported by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman. The group formed with a substantial financial commitment exceeding one hundred million dollars, aiming to support candidates who favor minimal or no regulatory oversight for artificial intelligence.
Bores responded to the targeting by sharing the PAC’s intentions directly with his constituents. He noted their straightforward approach, quoting their message: “Hey, we’re going to spend millions against Alex because he might regulate Big Tech and put basic guardrails on AI.” He reports that anxieties about AI are widespread among voters, with concerns ranging from data centers increasing utility bills and worsening climate change to the effects of chatbots on children’s mental health and the potential for job market disruption due to automation.
The assemblyman is the chief sponsor of New York’s bipartisan RAISE Act. This proposed legislation would mandate that large AI laboratories develop and adhere to safety plans designed to prevent critical harms. It also requires these companies to disclose significant safety incidents, such as the theft of an AI model by malicious actors. The bill explicitly forbids the release of AI models that carry unreasonable risks of causing critical harm, with civil penalties reaching up to $30 million for non-compliance. The legislation currently awaits a decision from Governor Kathy Hochul.
During the bill’s drafting process, Bores consulted with major AI firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic. These discussions led to the removal of certain provisions, such as mandatory third-party safety audits, which the industry reportedly refused to accept. Despite these concessions, the RAISE Act and its sponsor have drawn significant opposition from Silicon Valley.
The leaders of Leading the Future, Zac Moffatt and Josh Vlasto, have publicly committed to a major financial campaign to defeat Bores. They criticized the legislation as “ideological and politically motivated,” arguing it would hinder not just New York’s but the entire nation’s ability to lead in AI innovation and job creation. They contend that bills like the RAISE Act threaten American competitiveness, limit economic growth, and could undermine national security by leaving users exposed to foreign manipulation.
Moffatt and Vlasto further described the state-level approach as a “patchwork” of uninformed and bureaucratic laws that would slow American progress and potentially cede global AI leadership to China. They advocate instead for a single, consistent national regulatory framework for AI that they believe would strengthen the economy and protect users.
This conflict reflects a broader push from some in the tech industry to prevent states from enacting their own AI regulations. Earlier this year, an attempt to block state AI laws was inserted into a federal budget bill, though it was later removed. Lawmakers such as Senator Ted Cruz are now exploring other legislative avenues to resurrect such a prohibition.
Bores expressed concern about this movement, especially given the federal government’s slow pace in passing meaningful AI regulation. He analogized states to startups, suggesting they can act as policy laboratories that move quickly to test solutions when federal action stalls. He poses a fundamental question: “Has Congress solved the problem?” He argues that if Congress has not passed a bill that genuinely addresses these issues, it is illogical to tell states they cannot act.
To counter the “patchwork” argument from tech critics, Bores revealed he is collaborating with policymakers in other states to work toward standardizing legislation. He also believes lawmakers should coordinate their efforts to avoid redundancies with the European Union’s AI Act. Bores emphasized that his goal is not to stifle innovation, noting he has rejected bills he believed would have unintended negative consequences for the industry.
He frames the establishment of basic rules as a fundamentally pro-innovation stance. “I fundamentally believe that the AI that wins is going to be the AI that is trustworthy,” Bores stated. He sees the industry’s pushback against any government role in establishing that trust as a position that the public is increasingly rejecting at every level.
(Source: TechCrunch)
