Anthropic donates USD20m to US political group backing AI regulation
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The news: AI lab Anthropic has donated USD20 million ($28.07 million) to Public First Action, a bipartisan group campaigning for stronger AI guardrails, ahead of the US midterm elections.
The context: The donation is part of Anthropic’s “commitment to governance that enables AI’s transformative potential and helps proportionately manage its risks”, the company said in a blog post on Thursday, adding that it doesn’t want to “sit on the sidelines” while AI policies are being developed.
Public First Action was established in 2025 to counter the ‘super PAC’ network 'Leading the Future' launched by OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz executives opposing AI regulation. The group has lobbied against state AI safety rules, arguing that they could stifle innovation and disadvantage the US in its technology race against China. Public First Action is helmed by former lawmakers Brad Carson and Chris Stewart.
Pitted against each other, the two groups are at the centre of the AI regulation debate that is intensifying ahead of November’s US midterm elections.
“AI is being adopted faster than any technology in history, and the window to get policy right is closing. Yet there are no official guardrails in place and no federal framework on the horizon,” the blog post said.
“At present, there are few organised efforts to help mobilise people and politicians who understand what’s at stake in AI development. Instead, vast resources have flowed to political organisations that oppose these efforts”, the post continued.
Public First Action also announced the launch of an ad campaign to support Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn in her run for Tennessee governor. The ads supporting Blackburn will focus on her work promoting the children’s online safety legislation during her time in Congress.
