OpenAI employees fund rival super PAC to regulate AI

A group of rank-and-file OpenAI employees have collectively donated more than $215,000 to Guardrails Alliance, a super PAC launched last month with $5 million in seed funding. The PAC positions itself as a populist counterweight to Leading the Future, a pro-industry super PAC that has received over $100 million from tech leaders, including OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna. WIRED reports that seven current OpenAI employees and one former employee have contributed to Guardrails Alliance, with the largest single donation of $200,000 coming from Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a research engineer who has worked on AI safety mitigation strategies at OpenAI since 2022. Cerón Uribe expressed concern that his research would go to waste without guardrails holding private companies accountable, and he welcomed the chance to push back against Leading the Future's efforts to keep AI unregulated.

These donations, while small compared to Brockman's $50 million commitment to Leading the Future, underscore rising tensions inside OpenAI over the company's influence on AI policy. Some employees have pressed executives to explain ties to Leading the Future, and OpenAI leaders have since distanced themselves from the group. Guardrails Alliance cofounder Shaunna Thomas believes the PAC doesn't need to match dollar-for-dollar because it leverages existing public opinion against pro-industry PACs. Leading the Future has already attempted to sink campaigns of politicians supporting AI safety laws, such as New York's Alex Bores. Guardrails Alliance aims to raise $15 million this election cycle and follow Leading the Future into more political races. OpenAI's global affairs chief Chris Lehane helped set up Leading the Future but is not involved in daily operations, and the company stated that Brockman's engagement is personal.