r/PauseAI

As the White House pushes for light-touch rules, tech titans, venture capitalists, and PACs linked to OpenAI and Trump advisers are pouring over $290M into the midterms to back pro-industry candidates. Meanwhile, pro-regulation groups backed by Anthropic and the Future of Life Institute are spending tens of millions to fight for stricter oversight. Despite the massive funding advantage for loose rules, recent polls show the majority of Americans actually want stricter AI laws.

A new report from The San Francisco Standard reveals that the Parents and Kids Safe AI Coalition, a group pushing for AI age-verification legislation in California, was entirely funded by OpenAI. Child safety advocates and nonprofits who joined the coalition say they were completely unaware of the tech giant's financial backing until after the group's launch, with one member describing the covert arrangement as a very grimy feeling.