Key facts
- Democratic megadonor Ron Conway's SV Angel has launched a new AI policy center.
- Jay Carney will lead the project as general partner and head of public policy and communications at SV Angel.
- The center aims to build non-partisan policies for AI.
- Goals include protecting U.S. global AI leadership, fortifying cybersecurity, and managing job displacement.
- Concerns about data center power bills and sustainability are described as 'real and growing'.
Democratic megadonor Ron Conway, through his venture firm SV Angel, has established a new AI policy center, appointing former Obama administration official Jay Carney to lead the initiative. The project, named Project Blueprint, aims to serve as a "trusted bridge between the people building AI and the lawmakers who will help write the rules."
Carney, who also serves as a general partner and head of public policy and communications at SV Angel, stated that AI will transform the world and that getting AI policies right can ensure innovation is balanced with security, benefiting the American people.
The initiative is designed as a cross-industry collaboration, drawing policy proposals from various AI developers, open-source platforms, and data infrastructure providers to avoid over-reliance on any single company's perspective. Its ultimate goal is to develop "non-partisan policies durable enough to survive changes in power."
Observers note the project's creation under a prominent Democratic ally in tech and its leadership by a former Obama aide. Jason Elliott, a tech policy consultant, commented that the center's approach could counter the "extremism" seen in both the Trump administration's stance and a "head-in-the-sand ostrich approach" to AI policy.
Additional goals for Project Blueprint include safeguarding U.S. leadership in AI against global competitors like China, enhancing cybersecurity, establishing youth AI safety guardrails, addressing job displacement caused by AI, and exploring methods for redistributing AI industry profits. The project also acknowledges the essential role of U.S. data center buildouts while recognizing the "real and growing" concerns regarding increased power bills and sustainability, warning against dismissing public concerns.