AI Companies Spend Millions to Pick New York Politician

Big artificial intelligence companies are spending huge amounts of money to choose the next member of Congress from New York City. Groups connected to AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have spent over $16 million on this election. They want to pick someone who will make laws that help their businesses. This election will happen on June 23, and it could be one of the most expensive congressional races ever.

The fight started when AI companies didn't like one candidate named Alex Bores. Mr. Bores had helped write a law in New York that would control how AI companies work. Companies that don't want government rules spent millions of dollars on ads attacking him. But something unexpected happened - the attacks actually made Mr. Bores more popular and well-known.

Now other AI companies that do want government rules are spending millions to help Mr. Bores win. One company called Anthropic competes with OpenAI, and they support different candidates. By this week, the money spent helping Mr. Bores was actually more than the money spent attacking him. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also spent $10 million to help another candidate named Micah Lasher.

The race is very close between Mr. Bores and Mr. Lasher. Other candidates include Jack Schlossberg, who is President Kennedy's grandson, and George Conway, who often criticizes former President Trump. The winner will likely represent a district that includes Broadway, Central Park, and many big companies. Representative Jerrold Nadler is retiring from this seat, which started this whole expensive race.