A political ad targeting Alex Bores, a congressional candidate in New York City, highlights his past work at Palantir, a tech company with ties to defence and intelligence agencies, particularly its work with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The ad says, “He’s running from his past, while ICE is in our communities. ICE is powered by Bores’ tech. Manhattan is smarter than that,” CNN reported.The ad is backed by Leading The Future, a super PAC, which was launched to address a rising bipartisan reaction against artificial intelligence ahead of the midterm elections.
This year’s stakes are high as Congress prepares to shape AI regulations for the next decade, amid growing voter concerns over energy costs, privacy and job losses. Several Democrats have faced pressure to return donations from Palantir-linked donors, highlighting the tension.
“The recent surge in election-related activities of big tech companies… can be understood as pre-emptive measures against potential fallouts. Palantir, in specific, is in a vulnerable position because of recent revelations about its heavy involvement with ICE activities,” according to Professor Hamid Ekbia, the founding director of the Academic Alliance for AI Policy.
Alex Bores, who led AI regulation efforts in New York, accused Leading The Future and its industry backers of hypocrisy, saying he quit Palantir over its ICE contract and now they’re using those funds to attack him.
According to a report in NBC News, LTF raised more than $50 million, including $12.5 million each from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, as well as venture capitalists Marc Andreesen and Benjamin Horowitz from August 15 to December 31.
