The AI Industry Is Discovering That the Public Hates It

Here again, there is a gap between public statements and the facts on the ground. Microsoft’s Community-First initiative sounds great, but it lacks any form of independent accountability mechanism. OpenAI’s new white paper signals a shift toward progressive technology policy, but its president, Greg Brockman, has invested millions in a SuperPAC opposing AI regulatory efforts at the state level. OpenAI is also currently supporting a bill in the Illinois state legislature (Senate Bill 3444) that would protect it from large-scale harm caused by AI models (Anthropic, for its part, opposes the bill).

These examples highlight the trend noted by Ronan Farrow in his recent New Yorkers expose on Sam Altman — that he regularly publicly supported a position, then quickly changed course when it seemed like it would benefit his company.

If Altman, Amodei, and their big tech peers want to restore public trust and create real technology that benefits the public, then the path forward is not another white paper or postulates about the existential risks of their technology. This is sustainable, verifiable action: true transparency about what their products can do, a willingness to accept meaningful regulation and accountability even at financial cost, and true democratic community contribution to data center growth. Otherwise, this nascent populist AI movement will continue to grow, as will the potential for violence that accompanies it.