Ekbia Weighs In on the Rise in Election-Related Activities of Big Tech Companies in CNN Article

February 14, 2026

CNN

Hamid Ekbia

Autonomous Systems Policy Institute

Artificial Intelligence

Congress

Political Parties

U.S. Elections

United States

CNN

Hamid Ekbia

Tech giants including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale have launched Leading The Future, pledging over $100 million to support AI-friendly candidates as Congress prepares to craft AI regulations.

The group is running ads against candidates like former Palantir employee Alex Bores, who quit over the company's ICE contracts and later sponsored state AI safety legislation. Democrats in several states are returning Palantir-linked donations amid scrutiny, while a counter-organization called Public First aims to support candidates advocating for responsible AI policies.

“The recent surge in election-related activities of big tech companies such as Palantir and OpenAI can be understood as preemptive measures against potential fallouts from the election,” says University professor Hamid Ekbia. “Palantir, in specific, is in a vulnerable position because of recent revelations about its heavy involvement with ICE activities.”

Read more in the CNN article, “How allies of AI are ramping up their political donations for the midterms.”