OpenAI's 'reverse federalism': AI lobby targets states

The article traces the current lobbying push back to the mid-2010s backlash against social media, which left Americans jaded and produced little government regulation. AI companies are applying that lesson: rather than claim they are harmless, they are trying to shape the rules themselves. OpenAI and Anthropic hired former high-ranking officials from both parties and veterans of the first Capitol Hill hearings with tech executives, giving them a defense they have maintained since opening their Washington offices.

The strategy has several parts. The companies encourage certain congressional efforts, endorse some state lawmaking, and offer coordinated self-regulation in the meantime. They have also concluded they can live with a patchwork of similar state regulations, which the article describes as often a safer bet than banking on Washington for national standards. Spreading lobbying across statehouses is presented as an easier lift than getting Congress to act.

What this hinges on is whether state-level rules remain similar enough for the industry to accept, and whether those self-regulation offers satisfy lawmakers. For state legislators, the effect is direct: they are now the main target of AI lobbying. The open question is whether this state-first approach eventually produces national standards or leaves a fragmented landscape.