OpenAI’s recent hiring of Hogan Lovells US LLP for lobbying on artificial intelligence (AI) research and development highlights the organization’s increased focus on influencing policy in this area.
This move comes after OpenAI expanded its lobbying efforts last October, registering to lobby itself and hiring DLA Piper and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) is set to work on OpenAI’s new account.
The Center for AI Safety Action Fund, which is affiliated with the Center for AI Safety, has also engaged Akin Gump for “strategic and policy advice” regarding AI.
The Center for AI Safety previously organized a letter expressing concerns about the “risk of extinction from AI,” which was signed by several OpenAI employees and board members, including CEO Sam Altman. Reginald Babin, a former chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), will be involved in this account.
It’s noteworthy that Babin and three other Akin lobbyists working for the Center for AI Safety Action Fund are also among those registered to work for OpenAI.
This overlap suggests a coordinated effort between OpenAI and the Center for AI Safety Action Fund to address policy issues related to AI.
These developments underscore the growing importance of AI policy and regulation, with major players like OpenAI actively engaging in lobbying efforts to shape the future of AI research and development.
