WASHINGTON (AP) — The artificial intelligence The industry has been on a lobbying spree in recent years, deploying dozens of hired influencers to help shape potential government action.
This growth is not surprising. The technology is being rapidly adopted by powerful industries – healthcare, defense, financial services – all hoping to have a say in any future regulations.
As AI evolves at a rapid pace, lawmakers are relying on the expertise of lobbyists as think tanks, nonprofit groups and academia struggle to keep up with minute-to-minute technological changes.
Relying on PowerPoint slides and briefing papers, AI industry lobbyists spend a lot of time with lawmakers and staffers, advising them on the ins and outs of the technology.
The campaign has been a success, according to lawmakers and lobbyists who point to the lack of movement on any legislation to regulate AI, one of the most complex and vexing policy issues facing the federal government.
What’s happening?
Washington lobbyists have been rushing to recruit clients interested in AI, a sign that the technology is growing and that Congress is struggling to figure out how best to regulate the sector.
According to a study by Open Secretsa watchdog that monitors money in politics, the number of organizations lobbying on AI has climbed to 460 in 2023, an increase of more than 190% from 2022. The number of organizations has increased slightly to 462 in 2024. The groups behind these lobbyists include the main companies or commercial organizations behind the AI boomfrom business networks such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Business Roundtable to companies such as Microsoft, Intuit and Amazon.
One of the main reasons for this growth is that AI touches many different aspects of life, from healthcare and education to national security and the risks of disinformation.
AI companies seek to stifle EU-style regulation
The main goal of most of these lobbyists is to convince Washington that fears around AI are exaggerated and that the United States does not need to follow the European Union, which adopted a first-of-its-kind regulation earlier this year with the law on artificial intelligence.
“The recurring theme is that we should not do what the EU did. The most common phrase is: ‘The EU is a regulatory superpower,’” said Rep. Don Beyer. Virginia Democrat focuses on AI“I have yet to hear anyone defend the EU.”
Congress has so far taken a cautious stance on artificial intelligence. The legislation is unlikely to pass either chamber before the November elections, something some lawmakers say is necessary because of the way AI, using complex computer technology, can create credible but falsified images, sounds and videos, leading voters to question what they see and hear and undermining confidence in elections.
How do they do it?
AI lobbyists spend a lot of time simply explaining how the technology works.
As these lobbyists continue to hold events in the capital and fill campaign accounts with money, they are focusing on educating members of Congress, presenting themselves as a resource for information on the evolving industry.
“When it comes to AI, we’re pushing on an open door” in Congress, said Craig Albright, a top lobbyist and senior vice president at The Software Alliancea trade group whose members include Microsoft, OpenAI and IBM. “They want to be educated.”
Albright called the work “the main thing we do.”
Varun Krovi, a tech lobbyist, said such educational campaigns are effective because they create a level of rapport and trust between lobbyists and lawmakers.
“It’s a powerful way to build and solidify your relationship with these members and staff because you’re not asking them to support Bill X or oppose Bill Y,” said Krovi, manager of government relations and public policy at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund.
“You actually step back and say we’re here to answer all your technical questions and you need to listen to us. That’s incredibly powerful,” Krovi said.
One reason for this power, skeptics of AI regulation say, is that outside entities, such as universities and nonprofits, can’t keep up with the AI companies and trade associations that influence Congress. Members of Congress are more willing to listen to representatives of well-known tech companies than to more impartial experts, academics say.
Where are the think tanks and academia?
At this point, Congress is hearing mostly from industry-related lobbyists, lobbyists and academics say. Universities and nonprofits, which provide unbiased research and analysis on issues ranging from AI deployment to the threat it poses to society, can’t keep up with the technology’s developments. The most cutting-edge work is being generated by for-profit companies, which can afford the best equipment and researchers.
“It’s very difficult for academia to counteract this massive level of lobbying,” said Max Tegmark, a research professor of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s a bit like trying to explain something to someone else in the front row of a heavy metal concert.”
MIT and other organizations have hosted meetings with members of Congress on the topic of AI. MIT hosted lawmakers in Boston and offered similar briefings in Washington over the past two years. Nonprofits have tried to do the same.
“We’re trying to keep up, but… academia is facing a huge challenge: access to computing resources. That’s one of the issues that industry is facing right now,” said Asu Ozdaglar, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. “We continue to improve, we do research… but to stay in the race, we need to have access to these resources.”
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