A group funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman plans data center ads to sway midterms

由 Andreessen、Horowitz 和 Brockman 资助的组织计划投放数据中心广告以影响中期选举

A well-known, pro-AI super political action committee is behind a new group that plans to blast voters in key battleground states with ads advocating for data centers, several outlets are reporting. 据多家媒体报道，一个知名的亲人工智能（AI）超级政治行动委员会（Super PAC）正在支持一个新的组织，该组织计划在关键摇摆州的选民中投放广告，为数据中心进行宣传。

That new group, called Build American AI, wants to convince citizens of the virtues of having data centers in their backyards. It says it is affiliated with Leading the Future (LTF), a super PAC heavily funded by VCs Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, along with OpenAI President Greg Brockman. 这个名为“Build American AI”的新组织旨在让民众相信在自家后院建设数据中心的好处。该组织表示，它隶属于“Leading the Future”（LTF），这是一个由风险投资人 Marc Andreessen 和 Ben Horowitz 以及 OpenAI 总裁 Greg Brockman 大力资助的超级政治行动委员会。

Build American AI told Bloomberg it will focus its ads on Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin, where concerns about data centers have become a central theme in statewide elections. It said its ad budget is millions of dollars. Build American AI 向彭博社透露，其广告投放将集中在堪萨斯州、俄亥俄州和威斯康星州，在这些州，对数据中心的担忧已成为全州选举的核心议题。该组织表示，其广告预算高达数百万美元。

LTF launched with over $50 million in funding and has mostly used that money to donate to specific politicians, Politico reports. It supports candidates who advocate for AI, but it also works to oppose candidates who lobby against the technology, sources have told Politico. 据《政客》（Politico）报道，LTF 成立时获得了超过 5000 万美元的资金，并将这些资金主要用于向特定的政治人物捐款。消息人士告诉《政客》，该组织不仅支持倡导 AI 的候选人，还致力于反对那些游说抵制该技术的候选人。

LTF has become such a well-known, and not particularly beloved, force in AI-related election politics that OpenAI publicly distanced itself from it in a blog post in June. “There have been questions around Leading the Future (LTF), which has received support from our President and co-founder, Greg Brockman, and his wife Anna,” OpenAI wrote. “OpenAI does not direct the activities of LTF, or have visibility into their operations.” LTF 在 AI 相关的选举政治中已成为一股知名但并不怎么受欢迎的力量，以至于 OpenAI 在 6 月份的一篇博客文章中公开与其撇清关系。OpenAI 写道：“关于 Leading the Future (LTF) 存在一些疑问，该组织获得了我们总裁兼联合创始人 Greg Brockman 及其妻子 Anna 的支持。OpenAI 并不指导 LTF 的活动，也无法获知其运营情况。”

OpenAI also condemned some of LTF’s tactics, writing: “Groups that are advocating on AI should be clear about their policy views, be honest about whom they represent, and not use tactics like astroturfing that obscure the real choices facing policymakers and the public.” (Astroturfing means making a paid, organized campaign look like grassroots support.) OpenAI 还谴责了 LTF 的一些策略，写道：“倡导 AI 的组织应该明确其政策观点，诚实地说明他们代表谁，并且不应使用像‘草根伪装’（astroturfing）这样掩盖决策者和公众所面临真实选择的策略。”（“草根伪装”是指将有偿组织的活动伪装成基层民众的支持。）

While LTF has gained attention in Silicon Valley, it is not the only super PAC pushing an AI agenda that is backed by big Valley names. Anthropic, for instance, is a known supporter of Public First Action, a group that backs AI regulation. 虽然 LTF 在硅谷引起了关注，但它并不是唯一一个由硅谷大佬支持、推动 AI 议程的超级政治行动委员会。例如，Anthropic 是“Public First Action”的知名支持者，该组织支持对 AI 进行监管。

Meanwhile, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have been “spending on politics like no other” as The New York Times put it. By the outlet’s calculations, their venture firm, Andreessen Horowitz, is the biggest donor so far to the midterm elections, spending more than high-profile donors like Elon Musk and George Soros. The firm has spread over $115 million around so far in disclosed federal contributions. In addition to LTF and AI causes, it is also heavily supporting pro-crypto efforts, especially through the crypto super PAC Fairshake. 与此同时，正如《纽约时报》所言，Marc Andreessen 和 Ben Horowitz 在政治上的“投入无人能及”。据该报计算，他们的风险投资公司 Andreessen Horowitz 是目前中期选举中最大的捐赠者，其支出超过了埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）和乔治·索罗斯（George Soros）等知名捐赠者。到目前为止，该公司已在公开的联邦捐款中投入了超过 1.15 亿美元。除了 LTF 和 AI 事业外，该公司还通过加密货币超级政治行动委员会 Fairshake 等渠道，大力支持加密货币相关活动。