At least seven Texas candidates running for Congress this year have collectively received more than $2.8 million in support from super PACs linked to artificial intelligence, according to Federal Election Commission filings, The Texas Tribune reported.
While the PACs are funded by pro-AI tech executives, the groups have worked to hide their connections to the industry, going by names such as Jobs and Democracy PAC and Defending Our Values PAC, the Tribune reported.
Often their ads don't even mention artificial intelligence, with one ad promoting a candidate as a MAGA warrior who will fight for President Donald Trump.
American Mission, one of the PACs funded by AI executives, accounted for more than three-quarters of AI-related PAC spending in Texas congressional races, the Tribune reported.
Other ads have been funded by groups aligned with Public First Action, a bipartisan nonprofit backed by Anthropic, which donated $20 million to the organization, the Tribune said.
Public First Action focuses on AI safety and transparency and favors stronger safeguards for the industry. It doesn't have to disclose its donors due to its status as a nonprofit.
The prolific spending from both sides is emblematic of the political clash, set to play out across the country in this year's midterms, between outside influences with starkly different visions for how to regulate AI.
"AI is taking this approach where they're trying to expand their reach within both parties," said Paul Jorgensen, an associate professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who researches campaign finance.
PACs "are trying to get some kind of uniform pro-AI message there, and this will certainly have an effect on how members of Congress vote," he said.
A PAC backed by Meta spent more than $1.2 million on Texas primaries, including races for comptroller and the state Legislature, the Tribune reported. Meta owns AI data center campuses in the Lone Star State.
While many of the PACs are aimed at lessening regulation against the AI industry, PACs that support guardrails are also spending big in Texas.
Jobs and Democracy, a PAC aligned with a nonprofit focused on AI safety and regulation, has spent close to $150,000 in support of Democrat Colin Allred, who is running to regain his old House seat, the Tribune reported.
"We have to have representatives who understand the technology, who aren't afraid of it, who want to embrace its good sides, but also then put some rules that are relevant in place," Allred told the Tribune.
Allred's opponent in a May runoff, Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, criticized him for having an AI chatbot on his campaign website.
"Unfortunately, my opponent's AI chatbot has been spreading misinformation about his own record, his endorsements, and his campaign in an effort to mislead voters ahead of the May 26th election," Johnson said in a statement.
"That's not how AI should be used. And if this is how he chooses to deploy AI during a campaign, it raises serious concerns about how he would approach it in Congress," Johnson added.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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