Bernie Sanders’s Outside Group Endorses Pro-AI Safety Candidate in Crowded Manhattan Congressional Primary

Senator Bernie Sanders’ outside organizing group, Our Revolution, is endorsing a state assemblyman, Alex Bores, to succeed Congressman Jerry Nadler in the House of Representatives. Mr. Bores, a leading advocate for regulating artificial intelligence, is facing an onslaught of outside spending from the AI industry as he pushes for new safety guardrails on companies like his former employer, Palantir. Mr. Bores is locked in a tight battle to secure the Democratic nomination in New York’s 12th congressional district, which covers the heart of Manhattan from Morningside Heights to the Flatiron District. Mr. Nadler has represented the district for more than 30 years, though he said last year that he would not seek another term in order to make room for a new generation of leaders. The four leading candidates in the race are Mr. Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg, anti-Trump lawyer and former Republican George Conway, and state assemblyman Micah Lasher. According to an internal poll released last month from Mr. Bores’ campaign, Mr. Schlossberg is leading the field narrowly with 22 percent, followed by Mr. Bores at 19 percent, Mr. Lasher at 14 percent, and Mr. Conway at 10 percent. In a statement Thursday, the executive director of Our Revolution, Joseph Geevarghese, said Mr. Bores is committed to taking on “the oligarchy that’s rigging the system against working people.”“He put forward the country’s strongest regulation of the Al industry to protect Americans from those who want no rules and only care about unfettered power and profit. He’s running a campaign that brings people together and keeps our focus on our real enemies: the powerful interests buying our democracy,” Mr. Geevarghese wrote. “Our Revolution is proud to stand with him,” he continued. In a post on X, Mr. Bores said he was “honored” to receive the group’s support. Mr. Sanders, who founded the organization after losing the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, has not issued an endorsement in Mr. Bores’ race. Mr. Bores is running on one of the most detailed pro-AI regulation platforms in the country. His proposals include endorsing protections for children, creating enhanced data privacy standards, cracking down on deepfake videos, preventing energy cost increases for consumers as a result of data center construction, and requiring confidential disclosures on AI developments to federal regulators, among other things. He has argued he is best equipped to lead on this monumental challenge because of his work experience before getting into electoral politics. Mr. Bores left Palantir in 2019 after the firm renewed a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to aid with deportations — something he said he could not stomach. Mr. Bores’ strident pro-regulation stance led the AI industry to take aim at him in hopes of not only beating him in his primary, but also sending a message to candidates across the country who may think of embracing his policy positions. The AI industry-aligned super PAC now attacking him, Leading the Future, is funded by some of the nation’s wealthiest investors in these new technologies. Donors to the political spending group include major investors in and founders of companies like Andreessen Horwitz, OpenAI, and Palantir. Leading the Future was launched last year with $100 million in the bank in order to try to beat back politicians who seek to regulate the AI industry. “There’s a war brewing between the big AI companies and the humans that want to regulate them, and Manhattan has become the central battleground,” Mr. Bores said in an ad he released last month. “I know, because I’m big AI’s number-one target on team humanity.”

Bernie Sanders’s Outside Group Endorses Pro-AI Safety Candidate in Crowded Manhattan Congressional Primary

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