AI spending takes center stage ahead of midterms

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This Marketplace podcast is presented by Tomorrow's Cure. If our episodes on the intersection of AI and healthcare left you wanting to learn more about how technology is transforming medicine, Tomorrow's Cure is for you. It's the chart-topping 2025 Ambioward Finalist Podcast from Mayo Clinic. Back for a brand new season with new host award-winning journalist Lindsay Sievert, Tomorrow's Cure explores the innovations changing the healthcare landscape. Featuring conversations with leading physicians, researchers and medical experts, the new season examines everything from AI-powered diagnostics and cutting-edge cancer therapies to surgical technologies improving patient care today.

Not sure where to start? Listen to the season premiere featuring MD Anderson radiation physicist Dr. Paige Taylor and Mayo Clinic radiation oncologist Dr. Adam Holtzman. They discuss why carbon ion therapy is generating excitement in the medical community and what it could mean for the future of precision cancer treatment. So go ahead, follow tomorrow's cure on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Megan McCarty-Corino (1:05)

AI has become a big issue and a big spender in this year's election. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Megan McCarty Carino.

Are your ads sounding a lot like this lately?

SPEAKER_3 (1:27)

Big companies have come before, take what they wanted and left us with their mess to clean up. Now it's data centers.

SPEAKER_4 (1:33)

Across Ohio, our future is being built, but those data centers use power, a lot of it. So who pays?

Alice Wilder (1:40)

Dirty water, sky high bills. That's right, a brand new data center could be yours.

Megan McCarty-Corino (1:46)

AI focused political groups have made a splash this election cycle. They're spending big to shape races around competing visions for AI policy, from how the technology should be regulated to the data centers powering it. Two major groups in that fight are Leading the Future and Public First Action, with ties to some of the biggest names in AI. But those relationships can get complicated. OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife recently backed out of a planned $25 million donation to Leading the Future. Brockman said the PAC had become a distraction at OpenAI, but only after the executive had already given an initial $25 million.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, what's with these vague super PAC names?

Brendan Glavin (2:33)

The content of their ads can be whatever. And if it just says Jobs and Democracy PAC, people don't know that that has anything to do with AI unless they go and look it up.

Megan McCarty-Corino (2:42)

Brendan Glavin is the Director of Insights at OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.

Brendan Glavin (2:48)

You have Leading the Future, which is connected to OpenAI, and you have Public First, which has connections to Anthropic. These are the two major players right now. Leading the Future is more anti-regulation, whereas Public First is promoting more pro-regulation stance.

Megan McCarty-Corino (3:07)

Can you give me some examples of particular races where this has played out and what that's looked like?

Brendan Glavin (3:13)

The highest profile race, we had a primary in New York, a Congressional primary, where one of the candidates, Alex Boris, had proposed legislation promoting AI regulation in the New York State Legislature. He was then running for Congress, and this race became a real lightning rod for this regulation issue, Leading the Future and super PACS that are associated with Leading the Future came out and spent a lot of money attacking him, essentially running against him. Public First came out in support of him. So you really had an instance in this primary where the AI players were almost overshadowing what was going on with the candidates.

Megan McCarty-Corino (3:55)

And then I understand in the Senate race in South Dakota, more money has actually been spent by these AI super PACS than residents in South Dakota have put into these races. What do you make of that?

Brendan Glavin (4:12)

Yeah, it's what you see very often when you get these outside groups involved in races.

When they go all in, they can just dwarf the amount of money that the candidates themselves are putting into the races. It creates this nationalization of the race. It's a trend that we've seen especially in the primaries of industries or single-issue groups getting directly involved in the election.

Megan McCarty-Corino (4:37)

We'll be right back.

SPEAKER_1 (4:40)

This Marketplace podcast is presented by Tomorrow's Cure. If our episodes on the intersection of AI and healthcare left you wanting to learn more about how technology is transforming medicine, Tomorrow's Cure is for you. It's the chart-topping 2025 AMBE Award finalist podcast from Mayo Clinic. Back for a brand new season with new host award-winning journalist Lindsay Sievert, Tomorrow's Cure explores the innovations changing the healthcare landscape. Featuring conversations with leading physicians, researchers and medical experts, the new season examines everything from AI-powered diagnostics and cutting-edge cancer therapies to surgical technologies improving patient care today.