Anthropic Donates $900K to California Democrats Ahead of Midterms

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Anthropic, the AI startup poised for a potentially record-breaking IPO, has donated $900,000 to Democratic Party committees and voter-turnout efforts in California days before the midterm elections. The donations, revealed in a filing with the California secretary of state, highlight the growing political influence of AI companies.

Donations Break Down

The California Democratic Party received the largest share, $525,000, followed by an independent statewide get-out-the-vote group with $150,000. Five county Democratic organizations in San Francisco, San Mateo, Orange, Fresno, and Siskiyou counties each received $45,000. This marks Anthropic’s only contribution to the San Francisco Democratic Party this election cycle.

Robin Swanson, a California Democratic Party spokeswoman, stated the funds will “help us elect Democrats up and down the ballot, defeat the Trump-backed Prop. 39, and continue our robust voter-protection programs across the state.”

Political Influence and Concerns

Anthropic’s IPO is expected to enrich leftist figures like Eric Schmidt and expand the ranks of Effective Altruism (EA) adherents. However, the political implications of AI extend beyond financial contributions. A right-leaning nonprofit, the Center for American Rights, has raised concerns about AI becoming a dominant source of information.

The group filed an amicus brief in a copyright infringement case involving OpenAI and news organizations like the New York Times and Chicago Tribune. The brief warns that AI’s ability to scrape content could undermine creators and consolidate power in the hands of a few tech giants.

“If [superintelligence] is permitted to recklessly crawl the internet, even past paywalls, then we’ve effectively stripped these smaller companies of their competitive advantage,” the brief states. It further warns that this could lead to a “terrifying prospect” where AI companies become the sole distributors of news and entertainment.

AI and the Political Landscape

AI companies like Anthropic are beginning to exert significant political influence. Breitbart News’ Wynton Hall has written a bestseller, Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, to guide the MAGA movement in shaping AI policies that benefit humanity without ceding control to Silicon Valley or China.

Source: Breitbart