Harshawn Ratanpal, OpenSecrets

Federal lobbying on artificial intelligence grows as legislative efforts stall

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More organizations than ever are reporting lobbying the federal government on artificial intelligence.

During the first nine months of 2023, lobbyists working for over 350 companies, nonprofits, universities, trade groups and other organizations have reported lobbying on issues related to AI – more than double the number of groups lobbying on AI issues over the entire prior year.

The tranche of lobbyists working on AI issues has grown throughout 2023 as well. From the first quarter of 2023 to the second quarter, the number of groups lobbying the federal government on AI jumped from 129 to 235, an 82% increase. The third quarter saw 323 groups doing the same, a 37% increase.

The year saw an explosion of competing consumer generative AI products, and significant advancements in the field have prompted attempts at regulation.

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In March, AI startup and industry leader OpenAI released its latest large language model GPT-4 to the public, which included a host of new features. The company says it performs better than its predecessors GPT-3.5 and GPT-3 on a multitude of tests, and its AI chatbot ChatGPT can use it to read images. The company also integrated web browsing, allowing ChatGPT to browse the internet instead of relying on a dataset frozen in time.

OpenAI did not report lobbying in the first nine months of 2023 and only recently registered as a lobbying client. Details of its lobbying activity will become available later this month.

Anthropic, an AI startup founded in 2021 by former employees of OpenAI, began lobbying the federal government in 2023. It spent $210,000 in the first nine months of 2023, lobbying for increased funding to the National Institute of Standards and Technology and for the CREATE AI Act, which would create a national AI research infrastructure including public tools and datasets.

The bipartisan legislation has prompted lobbying from academic institutions like Harvard, Princetonand Stanford. Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered AI called the bill “necessary to America’s AI future” because it would help balance the concentration of AI resources and research, which is currently “dominated” by big tech.

Tech giants have thrown large sums of money toward AI investments as well as lobbying last year.

Microsoft invested $10 billion into OpenAI at the beginning of 2023, according to Bloomberg. The company released its own chatbot, Bing Chat, just a month later, which ran on OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Google, which released its chatbot Bard in 2023, invested $2 billion into Anthropic in October. Amazon invested $4 billion.

Bloomberg reports Apple will spend $1 billion on generative AI, and AI is reportedly Meta’s primary investment focus.

In total, the “big five” titans of the tech industry spent $55.5 million lobbying in the first nine months of 2023 on a host of different issues, including AI.

And there’s a lot to lobby on. Congress introduced at least 48 distinct bills regulating AI in 2023 alone, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit law and policy institute. None of the bills have been voted on by either chamber, and they can still be considered this year.

Microsoft cast the widest net, lobbying on at least 12 distinct bills related to AI. Google reported lobbying on four, and Meta and Amazon reported lobbying on three. Apple didn’t report lobbying on any specific AI bills, but lobbied on “Issues related to artificial intelligence and safety.”

Google, Microsoft and Meta lobbied on the AI Labeling Act of 2023. Introduced by Sens. Brian Schatz(D-Hawaii) and John Kennedy (R-La.), it would require AI-generated media to have “a clear and conspicuous” disclosure that the content is AI-generated, and the disclosure must be “permanent or unable to be easily removed by subsequent users.”

The companies have not publicly weighed in on the bill. However, they have individually taken private measures to regulate labeling or create tools to verify the source of content.

Google announced in a blog post ahead of releasing its image-generating AI that every photo created by it will contain information noting it was created by AI. Meta announced in November that any political ads on Instagram or Facebook must disclose if they were made using AI.

Microsoft is a founding partner of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, or C2PA. The group’s goal is to create a way for content creators to disclose verified information about how the content was created. The open-source mechanism uses cryptography to encode and preserve metadata.

The AI Labeling bill was also lobbied on by the American Federation of Teachers, International Alliance Theatrical Stage Employees and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) introduced a version of the bill in the House last month.

Microsoft and Google also lobbied on the National AI Commission Act. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) in June and would create a 20-person commission that advises the federal government on AI issues.

While tech giants have seldom commented on specific legislation, Google and Microsoft have published recommendations for how they want to see AI regulated.

Nonprofit and advocacy groups have also lobbied on legislation related to AI. The ACLU, for example, spent $760,000 lobbying in the first three quarters of 2023, which included lobbying on six bills that would regulate AI, like the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023.

Introduced with support from 11 Democratic Senators, the bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to require impact assessments of algorithms that make decisions in areas like housing, credit and education. Microsoft and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also lobbied on it.

While the ACLU has not publicly commented on the bill specifically, it has written about the importance of “establishing laws and regulations that mandate robust auditing [of algorithmic systems] for equity, transparency, and accountability.” The AARP and National Fair Housing Alliance also reported lobbying on anti-discrimination AI policy.

The ACLU reportedly met with the White House to discuss how to hold companies in charge of AI accountable. While there haven’t been federal legislative strides in regulating AI, the executive branch has recently made moves to regulate AI.

In September, the White House secured voluntary agreements from big tech companies to a host of practices and principles aimed at managing the risks associated with AI.

In late October, President Joe Biden issued an executive order tackling many of the issues brought up in pending legislation. It directs the Department of Commerce to “develop guidance for content authentication and watermarking to clearly label AI generated content.” It also provides clear guidance on how “to keep AI algorithms from being used to exacerbate discrimination.”

Politico reported last week that the RAND Corporation, a prominent think tank, had a significant role in drafting parts of the executive order related to reporting and security requirements.

Multiple federal agencies are also considering if and how to regulate AI. The Department of Health and Human Services announced rules last week that regulate new AI tools in healthcare, which will go into effect in 2024.

The Federal Election Commission solicited public comments earlier in 2023 on whether some deceptive political uses of AI should be illegal. The U.S. Copyright Office is conducting a study regarding generative artificial intelligence and recently concluded its own public comment period.

States have also been introducing their own AI legislation. Axios reported that as of late September, about 200 AI-related bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2023, with at least 14 becoming law. Most were in Democratic states and focused on tackling deepfakes and regulating how state governments themselves can use AI. Politico reported that tech lobbyists have been active at influencing bills in state legislatures as a way to “stave off more serious restrictions nationwide.”

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research and news organization tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Sinema’s fundraising continues to lag in contested Arizona Senate race

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Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) raised over three times as much money as Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.) last quarter in his bid to unseat the incumbent senator. He has inched closer to matching Sinema’s war chest each quarter since announcing his candidacy for Arizona’s Senate seat in January.

Sinema has yet to publicly announce her intent to run for reelection, but the former Democrat’s team has signaled that she is gearing up to run as an independent.

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Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Lamb have also declared their candidacies. Lake, who unsuccessfully ran to be Arizona’s governor in 2022, is predicted to be the nominee by a recent GOP poll. Rumors swirled around Republican Blake Masters’ potential run earlier this year, but the venture capitalist, who lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2022, has decided to instead run for the U.S. House.

The likely three-way race between Sinema, Gallego and Lake appears to be favoring Gallego. Recent polls show him ahead in most matchups, with Sinema in a distant third. The Cook Political Report ranks the race a toss up.

Gallego, a five-term congressman, has been outraising Sinema all year and continued that trend last quarter, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of campaign finance reports.

Sinema raised $826,000 from July through September, half of what she raised from April through June. She spent most of it, keeping her cash on hand around $10.8 million dollars.

Gallego raised $3.1 million last quarter and spent $1.8 million. His campaign had $1.3 million at the beginning of the year and now has over $5 million.

Credit: OpenSecrets

Lamb ended September with $307,000. Lake launched her campaign after the third quarter ended, so details about her finances will first become available after the end of the fourth quarter early next year.

While Gallego received more money from individual donors, Sinema raised the most from political action committees from July through September. Most of the $175,000 in PAC money Sinema raised came from 55 groups affiliated with companies and interest groups. Sinema also received $10,000 from Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.V.) leadership PAC, Country Roads PAC.

Gallego brought in $76,000 from PACs last quarter. About a third of it came from fellow Democrats through leadership PACs, local campaign committees and the Arizona Democratic Party. Most of the rest came from left-leaning interest groups and PACs affiliated with unions.

Indivisible Action, a liberal hybrid PAC, independently spent $13,700 opposing Sinema with digital ads and text messages.

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Half of Gallego’s funds last quarter came from small donors who contributed $200 or less. Small donors made up less than 2% of Sinema’s funds during the same period.

The Sinema Leadership Fund, a joint fundraising committee that splits contributions between Sinema’s campaign committee and leadership PAC, solicits funds through the donation processor Democracy Engine. Despite the lack of an official announcement from Sinema, the group’s donation page explicitly asks for donations to “support the re-election of U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.” The joint fundraising committee directed $365,000 to Sinema’s campaign committee from July through September.

Sinema spent $263,000 on digital advertising last quarter. Gallego spent more than double on digital ad buys during the same period.

Lamb spent $15,000 on digital advertising and $12,800 on campaign attire. The Federal Election Commission sent a letter to Lamb following his third quarter report, asking him to clarify the clothing expenses and to ensure they do not constitute a personal expense, which campaign committees cannot pay for. Lamb’s response is due Nov. 24.

Sinema also received a letter from the FEC following her third quarter report, noting that over two dozen contributors gave more to the campaign than the maximum allowed by law. The funds must be reattributed to a different candidate or redesignated for a different election within two months. A response to the FEC is due Nov. 29.

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research and news organization tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema continues using liberal platforms to fundraise for 2024 reelection campaign

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) announced her departure from the Democratic Party last December, but the first-term U.S. senator still uses platforms typically utilized by Democrats and progressives to raise money for her 2024 reelection campaign, which has yet to be formally announced.

Sinema’s campaign committee reported raising over $2.1 million in the first three months of 2023, ending March with $10 million on hand. Over $1 million was transferred from the Sinema Leadership Fund, a joint fundraising committee that splits contributions between Sinema’s campaign committee and her leadership PAC, Getting Stuff Done.

The joint fundraising committee’s donation page explicitly states that funds will go in part to Sinema’s 2024 reelection, OpenSecrets found, even though the senator has not officially announced her candidacy. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that an internal presentation suggests Sinema is gearing up to run as an independent.

Donations to the joint fundraising committee are facilitated through Democracy Engine, which describes itself as a nonpartisan for-profit donation processor but almost exclusively raises money for Democratic politicians. If Sinema instead decides to run in the Democratic primary and loses, Arizona law would bar her from running in the general election as an independent.

Although Sinema was not up for reelection during the 2022 midterms, she was the largest recipient of funds through Democracy Engine during the last election cycle. In addition to money from her joint fundraising committee, about $220,000 of Sinema’s 2023 contributions were facilitated through Democracy Engine.

Democracy Engine declined to comment.

Sinema has also continued to raise money through ActBlue, an “online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, progressive organizations, and nonprofits.” In the first quarter of 2023, at least $450,000 of Sinema’s fundraising came through ActBlue. During that time, Sinema’s campaign paid ActBlue and Democracy Engine about $18,000 and $13,000 in merchant fees, respectively.

In the past, ActBlue has kicked some politicians off of its platform due to scandals or political affiliation changes. High-profile examples include former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost access to the platform amid his 2021 sexual harassment scandal, and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who was reportedly removed by ActBlue when he switched to the Republican party in 2019.

ActBlue declined to comment for this story, but its website specifies the criteria used to determine which candidate can use the platform. While independents are usually barred from ActBlue in races that feature a Democrat, an exception is made for incumbents that have “a proven history of caucusing with Democrats,” which Sinema has continued to do after her party shift.

Sinema did not respond to OpenSecrets’ requests for comment.

Senate race landscape still sparse

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is the only prominent Democrat to announce his bid for Sinema’s U.S. Senate seat so far. Gallego was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014, representing Arizona’s 7th Congressional District until last year, when he was elected to serve in the state’s 3rd Congressional District after redistricting.

Based in Phoenix, both districts are solidly Democratic, and Gallego won each of his elections with at least 75% of the vote. The Cook Political Report rates the Arizona Senate race a “toss up.”

So far, Sinema has a significant cash advantage over Gallego, though Gallego raised more funds in the first quarter of 2023.

After outraising a challenger vying for his House seat 39-fold in the 2022 midterms, Gallego left the year with $1.3 million on hand. Since launching his Senate bid in late January, Gallego raised $3.8 million and spent $2.3 million, leaving his Senate campaign with $2.7 million at the end of March.

Over half of Gallego’s funds are made up of small donations from individual donors giving $200 or less. An OpenSecrets analysis found that small-donor contributions made up less than 1% of contributions to Sinema.

Most of the money spent by Gallego’s 2024 Senate campaign went to Aisle 518 Strategies, a progressive political firm that has been used by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and others. The $1.6 million Gallego’s campaign paid to Aisle 518 Strategies so far went to digital consulting, list acquisition, SMS and digital fundraising services.

Democratic politicians — like Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — have largely refrained from endorsing either candidate in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race, often citing how much time lies between now and the election. However, the campaigns of Democratic California Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Eric Swalwell and Ted Lieu have contributed to Gallego’s campaign.

On the other side of the aisle, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is the most prominent Republican to have announced a bid for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat. Lamb officially launched his campaign shortly after the first quarter FEC filing deadline so his first fundraising report will not be available until July.

According to February polling data from O.H. Predictive Insights, Gallego is favored to win head-to-head matchups against Sinema and all other potential candidates. Other potential Republican candidates include former Arizona GOP candidate for U.S. Senate Blake Masters and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

OpenSecrets is a nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit research and news organization tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy.