AI Safety Advocates Fund Minnesota Senate Candidate Critical of AI Development
Donations from AI industry professionals, including those from Anthropic, have gone to Democratic candidate Peggy Flanagan, who has labeled artificial intelligence an "existential threat."
Individuals identifying with the "AI safety doomer" movement have contributed thousands of dollars to Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic candidate for a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat and an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has expressed concerns about artificial intelligence posing an existential threat.
Flanagan, currently the lieutenant governor of Minnesota, is competing against Republican Michelle Tafoya for the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. The race is considered a toss-up and could be pivotal in determining the balance of power in the Senate as lawmakers grapple with AI regulation.
Campaign finance records show that between July 13 and August 12, Flanagan received at least $41,000 from 12 individuals working in the AI industry. These donations come from individuals who have voiced concerns about the potential risks of advanced AI.
Flanagan herself has been vocal about her apprehension regarding AI. In a recent interview, she stated she was "concerned about the catastrophic nature of AI," adding that it is "moving much faster than the speed of government." During a July primary debate, she described AI as an "existential threat to us if it gets out of control."
A spokesperson for Flanagan's campaign stated that "it’s past time for Washington to take action on AI." The candidate advocates for "mandatory independent safety testing, real enforcement authority for regulators, and legal accountability when these systems cause harm." The spokesperson added that Flanagan believes "we should seriously consider a pause on further advanced AI development," warning of "catastrophic implications" otherwise.
Among the donors are several individuals from Anthropic, a prominent AI company whose CEO, Dario Amodei, has frequently warned of potential AI doomsday scenarios. Notable donors include William Saunders, a former OpenAI employee who testified to the Senate about his concerns regarding the company's decision-making on artificial general intelligence, and Jan Leike, former head of OpenAI's "Super Alignment" team, who resigned citing safety concerns taking a backseat to product development.
Other Anthropic employees who contributed to Flanagan's campaign include Steven Bills, Daniel Ziegler, Evan Hubinger, Adly Templeton, Tao Lin, and Eliza Geeslin. Hubinger, in a social media post, expressed belief that AI could kill all humans and stated that Anthropic does not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence.
Tao Lin has claimed AI has a 20% chance of causing human extinction. Saunders, along with other Anthropic employees, previously signed an open letter urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to support Senate Bill 1047, which aimed to regulate AI development.
Outside of Anthropic, Jibran Jahshan, a vice president of software engineering at Nvidia, also donated to Flanagan. Jahshan has supported Rep. Ro Khanna, a proponent of halting the development of artificial superintelligence. Dylan Mavrides, a quantitative data analyst at Jane Street, contributed to Flanagan and also donated to the Dream NYC Super PAC, which supported a candidate advocating for heavy AI regulation.
Kate Woolverton, a software engineer at Google, made a significant donation to Flanagan and had previously contributed to Public First Action, a super PAC that supported AI regulation. Woolverton was also among those who signed an amicus brief supporting Anthropic against a Trump administration designation.
Republican officials have criticized the donations and Flanagan's stance. Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, stated that Flanagan is a "socialist doomer who wants to kill innovation and give China the upper hand by pushing effective altruism dogma and fighting alongside the likes of Bernie Sanders to unleash crippling government regulations on artificial intelligence."
The influx of donations from AI safety advocates into Flanagan's campaign highlights the growing intersection of technology policy and political fundraising as debates around AI regulation intensify.