AI Oligarchs Buy Democracy
📰 THE STORY: Bloomberg reports that venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz led a $50.8 million fundraising effort for a super PAC aiming to influence midterm elections. Their goal: to secure a 'business-friendly regulatory environment' for artificial intelligence, ensuring minimal government oversight as the industry explodes. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context:
This isn't groundbreaking innovation, it's classic regulatory capture. Recall the oil and gas industry's century-long campaign against environmental protections, or how Big Pharma's lobbying has insulated it from meaningful price controls and competition. From the early 20th century 'Robber Barons' distorting markets to the current tech monopolies buying influence, the playbook hasn't changed.
This is simply a new industry adopting an old, devastating strategy to privatize profits and socialize risks. Even the internet's early development under DARPA was intended for public benefit, only to be co-opted and privatized, with subsequent regulatory capture ensuring minimal public accountability for increasingly powerful platforms. Double Standard: While Western media often decries 'state
control' of industry in nations like China or Russia, when mega-corporations buy political influence to dictate terms in the US, it's frequently framed as 'business advocacy' or 'free market principles' at play. Transparency is praised abroad, but domestic lobbying, even with its often opaque connections and dark money, is simply 'how Washington works.' Imagine if a 'foreign adversary' funded a