OpenAI's Lehane Unveils 5 AI Priorities for 2028 Election, Invoking New Deal
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Nov 4
OpenAI's Lehane Unveils 5 AI Priorities for 2028 Election, Invoking New Deal
2 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Nov 4
Summary
Chris Lehane used a new essay to argue the 2028 presidential race could become a defining AI election, urging politicians to pursue a “third path” that addresses voter anxiety over jobs, costs and data centers.
Five priorities anchor his agenda: worker protections, education, child safety, AI safety standards and faster data-center development, while framing AI adoption as a route to broader prosperity and U.S. competitiveness against China.
Critics said the pitch marks a shift from OpenAI’s earlier deregulatory stance but still largely serves the company’s interests, offering incentives and profit-sharing ideas rather than binding rules on displacement, concentration of power or corporate accountability.
OpenAI’s credibility on safety remains a flashpoint because Lehane backs enforceable standards, independent evaluations and shutdown powers after the company previously opposed California’s 2024 AI safety bill and broader state regulation.
The essay lands after Democrats retook Congress in the midterms and as affordability rises toward 2028, creating an opening for AI politics to expand beyond labs into debates over electricity bills, classrooms and middle-class jobs.