Tech worker-backed PAC launches with $5M to advocate for AI regulation

A new super PAC, Guardrails Alliance, launched with about $5 million to advocate for AI legislation and counter industry-backed opposition, according to reporting by TechCrunch and cited coverage from The New York Times.

The PAC, founded by Democratic operatives Shaunna Thomas and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, plans to raise $15 million this election cycle. It describes itself as a populist movement funded by small donations from tech workers and labor unions, positioning itself against what it frames as an 'anti-regulation AI tech sector.'

Guardrails Alliance is backing Alex Bores, a New York congressional candidate running in primaries next week. Bores is the first target of Leading the Future, a rival super PAC with more than $100 million from tech leaders including OpenAI president Greg Brockman.

The PAC will use its funds to purchase ads supporting Bores, who has also received support from another pro-legislation super PAC, Public First Action, which has backing from Anthropic.

Tech workers have mobilized in recent months to demand their companies end contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and urge the Pentagon to withdraw Anthropic’s designation as a supply chain risk, which critics argue was imposed without due process.

OpenAI has distanced itself from Brockman’s donations to Leading the Future, but OpenAI employees have expressed concerns on social media about the group’s attacks on Bores.