Behind the Curtain: OpenAI's post-election power play

"You can try to chase the moment, or seek to inform the moment via the power of ideas," OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane tells us, calling Tuesday an "electoral portal from one era to the next."

• Since August, Lehane and his team have been stockpiling policy proposals, some new and some repackaged, to drive urgency and steer the AI debate.
• It'll all start during the lame-duck session of Congress — the awkward but often consequential weeks between the election and the swearing-in of new members and senators on Jan. 3. This year's lame duck opens Nov. 9.

The big picture: Other tech companies are also positioning themselves for a potential blue wave. Meta is taking steps to strengthen its ties with Democrats, Axios' Sara Fischer scooped Saturday. Other big AI and tech players can be expected to do the same.

• Tech titans who enjoy close relationships with President Trump will be top targets for Democrats, who are eager to ramp up scrutiny and regulatory pressure on the industry.

OpenAI's plans, being revealed here for the first time, all involve control — trying to send the message that AI is being built for people, not to displace people. The proposals include:

1. Speed limits: Building on earlier proposals, OpenAI plans to unveil new ideas for mandatory safeguards for the most powerful AI systems — speed limits for AI that will allow humans to keep their hands on the wheel. This'll include a more aggressive congressional drive. "You're going to see us talk more and more about the concept of speed limits," Lehane said. "Our belief is people should always remain in control of this technology. AI should be built by and for people, and people should have more control over how the technology shapes their lives and communities."
2. Data centers: OpenAI hopes to stem the nationwide, bipartisan backlash by offering new community compacts and commitments to smooth the way for future data centers. In addition, the company will try to set a new industry standard by proposing state legislation that gives people a meaningful say in how projects are built and what benefits they receive. In an intentionally provocative rebranding effort, OpenAI will argue that the infrastructure it's building, in contrast to legacy data centers, should be called "AI compute campuses" that can economically transform host communities. OpenAI points to its role in developing a huge data center project that promises to bring thousands of jobs to Pike County in Ohio's Appalachian region. "We think the conversation is good and healthy," Lehane said. "It's democracy in action. Communities should hold companies responsible and accountable so they really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects."
3. Economic opportunity: OpenAI is developing ideas to help more people see AI as empowering for their daily lives and on the job, including supporting workers through disruption, widening access to education and training, and making it easier to start and grow a business.
4. International cooperation: OpenAI will push for the U.S. to shape global standards with AI built on democratic values.

Between the lines: OpenAI is trying to stake out a human-centered "third path" in a debate that often defaults to an artificial binary of doomers vs. accelerationists.

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, speaking to the UN Security Council in September, called for an AI approach that leads to a "new Renaissance of creativity and discovery."

What we're watching: OpenAI's overtures are aimed partly at 2028 presidential hopefuls, who'll be increasingly vocal about their plans starting Wednesday. "AI is going to be the issue in 2028," Lehane said, calling the midterms a "bit of a movie trailer for what you're going to see in 2028."

• "I don't think it's going to be good enough just to say 'AI bad,'" Lehane added. "The public gets that this is a much more complex, nuanced conversation. They're going to be looking for whoever their FDR or Lincoln is who's actually going to want to try to lead them through this journey."
• Lehane said candidates should ask: "How do we start to think about trust? How do we think about the incredible anxiety that exists in modernity? How do we think about the fact that people are profoundly unhappy with where their social contract is, where the American dream is?"

The bottom line: The plans for the coming months are just the beginning of OpenAI's effort to inject more urgency in Washington and push the industry on frontier safety. Remember: Every day, AI models get more powerful — and tougher to corral.

• "Our policy priorities — and urgency, especially on frontier safety — are about meeting the moment in response to the rapidly advancing capabilities," Lehane said. "And we expect that to continue as a new Congress ramps up."

Axios' Bradley Olson contributed.

• Disclosure: Axios has a content licensing and technology agreement with OpenAI, emphasizing expansion of local news coverage.

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