Exclusive: Obama-Biden alumni launch AI policy initiative
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Alumni of the Obama and Biden administrations are launching a public policy initiative aimed at defining the center-left perspective on AI.
Why it matters: Democrats across the country are taking action on AI as the midterms near, implementing data center moratoriums and running for office on AI safety platforms.
Driving the news: The American Innovation Policy Forum is looking to shape the Democratic vision for AI ahead of 2028, the group exclusively told Axios.
- The group plans to hold listening sessions across the country to zero in on community concerns about AI and bring them back to Washington.
- Those conversations will inform policy recommendations that fellows will brief lawmakers on starting in the fall.
- Former senior Obama and Biden officials from regulatory agencies and the White House, along with other experts, will serve on a council to advise the effort and the forum's fellows.
What they're saying: Founder Alex Roark, a Biden-era Federal Communications Commission official, pointed to Utah, where data center construction was announced then rolled back, as an example of what can happen when communities aren't brought into the conversation.
- "The same month that this project is being proposed, the governor went on TV and told all of his folks 'We're experiencing a crazy heat wave and everybody needs to conserve water,' but then you're also proposing the largest data center in American history, right?" he told Axios.
Between the lines: Roark said the group hopes to drill into what long-term AI policy should be — not just on data centers, but AI regulation writ large — and create a national framework.
What's next: The American Innovation Policy Forum's fellows will be announced in the coming weeks.
