OpenAI is already trying to shape the 2028 election

OpenAI's chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane published an essay proposing five policy priorities ahead of the 2028 election, comparing AI's economic potential to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Lehane urged politicians to develop policies addressing Americans' concerns about AI rather than offering lip service to anti-AI sentiment and backlash against data centers.

Lehane's priorities span worker protections, education, AI safety, and data center development. He proposes tax incentives for workers to learn AI skills, easier capital access for entrepreneurs, and new approaches to employee ownership and profit-sharing. On data centers, Lehane acknowledged concerns while emphasizing construction jobs and local tax revenue, warning that politicians supporting data center moratoriums could jeopardize America's lead over China.

Kate Brennan, who leads AI and corporate power policy at the AI Now Institute, told TechCrunch that Lehane's rhetoric marks a shift from OpenAI's agenda last year, which focused on accelerating AI development and reducing regulatory barriers. Brennan criticized the approach. "Invoking a New Deal metaphor is to invoke state capacity to actually benefit the public," she said. "This is written by a private company that is trying to advocate for policies for its own benefit. It is ahistorical at best and harmful at worst."

Brennan noted that many of Lehane's proposals would encourage wider AI adoption and support infrastructure expansion OpenAI needs to grow. She pointed to OpenAI's history of opposing legislation designed to impose AI safety measures. In 2024, OpenAI opposed California's AI safety bill, SB 1047, which would have mandated catastrophic risk evaluations and shutdown capabilities. The company has more recently shifted some positions, backing several state safety laws and saying it would be open to independent evaluators.

Opposition to data centers emerged as a bipartisan concern in several midterm races. Affordability is already shaping up as a key issue for the 2028 election as Americans grapple with inflation and rising costs.