New York City House primary emerges as key battleground in ‘AI civil war’
Summary
The artificial intelligence industry is spending heavily in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections to influence upcoming AI laws. The Democratic primary in New York’s 12th district has become a major focus, with big money supporting and opposing Alex Bores, a candidate pushing for AI regulation.Key Facts
- AI-focused political groups have raised about $100 million for the 2026 elections, spending $44 million so far.
- Nearly half of this spending targets the New York City Democratic primary for the 12th House district.
- Alex Bores, a former tech worker and current assemblymember, supports stronger AI safety and regulation.
- Bores sponsored the Raise Act, which requires big AI companies to publish safety plans.
- Leading the Future, a pro-AI regulation federal framework group funded by venture capitalists Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, has spent $8.2 million opposing Bores.
- Opposing Super PACs like You Can Push Back and Jobs and Democracy, funded by crypto billionaire Chris Larsen and AI company Anthropic ($20 million), support stronger AI safeguards and have spent $11 million to counter Leading the Future’s ads.
- The spending has made the race a symbol of a wider conflict within the AI industry about how to regulate the technology.
- Polls show Bores and another candidate, Micah Lasher, both support AI regulation but are in a tight race.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.