The Unlikely Political Bedfellows on A.I. Regulation

Andrew here. In all of the back and forth over A.I. safety, a new concern has arisen. The chief technology officer of Palantir, Shyam Sankar, argues in an essay that the effective altruism movement is behind the freakout by A.I. researchers.

Sankar links effective altruism to Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, who was an adherent. (It doesn’t explain the concerns of Elon Musk or Sam Altman, neither of whom is publicly tied to the philosophy; Dario Amodei has historical ties to the movement but says he’s not a member.) But this argument has been quietly swirling around Silicon Valley, especially among A.I. maximalists who favor less regulation and a need to compete against China. Remember that Palantir is a major military contractor.

Also: Our scoop on Monday about Jay Carney’s new job, working with Democrats on tech regulation, has caused quite a lot of discussion online. Barack Obama, whom Carney worked for as a press secretary, linked to a post featuring our newsletter. “Whether this technology results in amazing breakthroughs in medicine, energy and education or unleashes huge economic disruptions, greater inequality, and potential catastrophe will depend on the choices that we make right now — choices that should be made not just by the companies involved, but by all of us,” Obama wrote.

The messy politics of A.I. regulation

Opponents to potential new artificial intelligence regulation are getting more outspoken.

In one camp are those like President Trump, who see any slowdown as a weakening of U.S. national security. Another group is concerned with a different issue — and has drawn some unexpected allies.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/business/dealbook/ai-regulation-khan-sacks.html