Article · AI translation
IT Home reported on November 3 that, according to a Business Insider report published on the evening of November 2, OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, who oversees lobbying, privately told people interested in running in the 2028 U.S. presidential election that AI would be a major issue shaping the next presidential campaign.
In a memo, Lehane said candidates cannot simply prepare a few talking points around hot campaign issues; they also need a comprehensive vision for AI governance. He warned Democrats in particular that opposing the construction of infrastructure needed for AI development could put them at a disadvantage in this policy debate.
Lehane believes the impact of the dispute over data centers could extend far beyond the local construction projects themselves. As both U.S. parties begin preparing for the next presidential election, OpenAI is seeking to use this issue to influence how potential presidential candidates understand and publicly discuss AI.
A person familiar with the matter said the memo was sent to about 6 potential candidates, several members of Congress and prominent political figures.
Lehane argued that candidates should offer voters a middle path that neither allows AI to develop without limits nor hands control of the technology to a self-appointed elite.
Lehane also compared the AI era with the “New Deal” proposed in 1932, arguing that the next president has an opportunity to redefine “the relationship between people and a transformative new force that is changing their lives.”
In Lehane’s view, AI has already begun to affect the 2026 elections. Data centers facing public opposition have become a focal point in debates over the cost of living, reflecting concerns that extend beyond the construction of the facilities themselves. Rapid technological development is also making voters anxious because they believe the existing social contract has been disrupted.
By 2028, however, the situation will change as AI capabilities advance further and Americans become more familiar with the technology. Lehane urged candidates to explain to voters how they would ensure that humans remain in charge of major decisions, how taxes should work in the AI era, how children should be protected, whether AI can ease the cost of living, and whether the United States can maintain its technological lead. “The candidates who succeed will not promise to stop the future from arriving, nor will they simply trust that everything will work itself out. They will show Americans how to shape the future and benefit from it.”