OpenAI Plans Post-Election Policy Push Including AI 'Speed Limits' and Data Centre Rebrand

OpenAI is readying a broad public-relations and policy push to follow the US midterm elections, as Democrats appear likely to win back the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. The effort is being led by chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane, who outlined several proposals to Axios: developing AI "speed limits," finding ways to show people that AI can empower them in daily life, pushing the United States to take a leading role in setting global AI standards, and rebranding data centres as "AI compute campuses" to soften community opposition to new projects.

Lehane said the midterms will be "a bit of a movie trailer for what you're going to see in 2028," when he expects AI to be "the issue" in the presidential election.

On the broader debate around data centre construction — one that has already led Amazon and Microsoft to announce they will no longer use non-disclosure agreements in negotiations with local governments — Lehane called the public conversation "good and healthy." He added: "Communities should hold companies responsible and accountable so they really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects."