Inside the next phase of OpenAI’s political strategy

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. “What we’re basically trying to do here is use a bunch of the big states to come together and mirror each other to de facto create a national standard,” said Lehane, a former longtime Democratic political strategist now serving as OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer.