Palantir Co-Founder's PAC Attacks Pro-Reg Lawmaker Over Palantir Ties
Why It Matters
This marks an aggressive shift in AI lobbying where industry-backed groups weaponize a candidate's tech background to derail regulatory efforts. It signals that state-level lawmakers face significant personal political risks when proposing AI safeguards.
Key Points
- Joe Lonsdale's PAC is targeting NY Assemblymember Alex Bores with negative advertisements.
- The ads focus on Bores' former role at Palantir, despite the PAC being funded by Palantir's co-founder.
- Bores is being targeted specifically due to his advocacy for AI regulation and algorithmic safety bills.
- The conflict highlights a strategy of using industry pedigree as a political weapon against pro-regulation candidates.
- This represents an escalation of Silicon Valley's involvement in state-level political campaigns.
The pro-AI political action committee 'Leading the Future,' funded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, has launched a series of attack ads against New York State Assemblymember Alex Bores. The campaign highlights Bores’ previous employment at Palantir as a potential liability, despite the PAC’s own founder being a principal architect of that company. The political targeting is reportedly a response to Bores’ legislative work advocating for stricter AI regulations and algorithmic transparency. Bores, a Democrat representing Manhattan, has positioned himself as a tech-literate lawmaker capable of drafting effective guardrails, a stance that clashes with the PAC's pro-accelerationist agenda. This development underscores a deepening rift between the 'effective accelerationist' wing of Silicon Valley and legislators seeking to impose oversight on rapidly evolving technologies. The move is seen as a strategic attempt to chill regulatory momentum at the state level.
A political group funded by one of the founders of Palantir is attacking a New York politician for having worked at Palantir. It sounds like a contradiction, but there is a strategic reason behind it. The politician, Alex Bores, is a Democrat who wants to pass new laws to regulate AI. The 'Leading the Future' PAC wants to stop those laws from happening. Instead of debating the policy, they are using Bores' tech resume to make him look suspicious to his voters. It is a high-stakes game of political hardball meant to scare off other lawmakers from trying to regulate the AI industry.
Sides
Critics
New York State Assemblymember advocating for AI transparency and regulatory guardrails.
Defenders
Co-founder of Palantir and backer of 'Leading the Future' who opposes restrictive AI regulations.
A pro-AI PAC focused on supporting candidates who favor rapid AI development and opposing those who push for regulation.
Noise Level
Forecast
Industry-backed PACs will likely increase spending against moderate, tech-savvy lawmakers to prevent them from becoming national leaders on AI policy. This will likely force a more polarized environment where 'pro-tech' and 'pro-safety' factions become increasingly hostile in the 2026 election cycle.
Based on current signals. Events may develop differently.
Timeline
Attack Ads Reported
Politico reports that Leading the Future has begun hitting Alex Bores with ads focusing on his Palantir ties.
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