It may be an off-year election cycle, but Silicon Valley isn’t treating it like one. Big Tech recently committed $200 million to new super PACs and other political groups, aimed at pressuring elected officials into supporting artificial intelligence without safeguards.
And $200 million is just the sticker price. Focused solely on their profits, Big Tech has no interest in being held accountable by policymakers in state capitals or in Washington.
To Silicon Valley, dissent is unacceptable. Cue OpenAI recently subpoenaing The Midas Project—an AI company watchdog—days after subpoenaing the watchdog nonprofit Encode. From legal fees to false accusations to billions of dollars in research and development, the pro-AI lobby knows that this is the issue of our time.
It begs the question: Will Americans push back soon enough? Poll after poll shows that U.S. citizens are increasingly skeptical of AI’s ramifications in terms of the labor market, public health, national security, and many other arenas. In a world where teenagers are turning to chatbots for emotional support (and not finding it), the Pentagon is integrating AI into deadly weapons systems, and this new technology is already destroying jobs across industries, Americans have definite cause for concern.
But public opinion alone won’t scare off Silicon Valley, which is committed to throwing money at federal, state, and local races to win the political war anyway. Despite overwhelming support for effective safeguards on advanced AI, sheer spending power still makes Big Tech the Goliath and the rest of us David.
In the end, David defeated Goliath, but countering Big Tech will require collective buy-in from policymakers and everyday citizens alike. It will take willpower in a world where companies like OpenAI are attacking the nonprofit watchdogs in charge of holding them accountable. When the likes of Meta, Microsoft, and Google are undeterred by mass layoffs, replacing many workers with AI, only collective willpower stands a chance of keeping them in check.
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This is not a partisan issue. The fight is bigger-picture than even AI itself. Those who are skeptical of Silicon Valley need to rally behind the nonprofit watchdogs that are calling out the industry’s missteps, and how those missteps may destabilize the U.S. economy, our national defense, and much more.
We already have a mandate from the people. Overwhelming majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents don’t trust Big Tech CEOs to act in our best interests. Three-quarters of Americans believe that Big Tech has too much power in society. When Barack Obama and Steve Bannon agree that advanced AI is a threat to our way of life, it shows the huge bipartisan coalition on this topic.
As we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, holding the world’s largest technology companies accountable won’t be easy. But there is a strong deterrent in place already. Day after day, watchdog groups and other nonprofits are educating the public about the risk of advanced AI, compiling research, publishing reports, tracking the industry, communicating with policymakers, and advocating for safer technology.
For years, groups like Encode and The Midas Project have alerted the rest of us when Silicon Valley has gone too far, explaining what AI will mean to our jobs and communities amid constant attacks from technology companies. My organization, The Alliance for Secure AI, is a proud partner in these efforts.
We believe in the benefits of technological innovation and certain advancements in AI research. AI can be a force for good, but we need to be realists. We don’t believe in completely unchecked AI development that fails to take into account broader social good.
Big Tech CEOs may not see it that way, but there is more to America than Silicon Valley, and the region’s impact needs to be analyzed, discussed, and scrutinized on a regular basis. Checks and balances are imperative in a free society, and the nonprofit sector is doing that hard work despite its underdog status.
Heading into 2026, AI is indeed the issue of our time. Whether we ultimately reap the benefits or bear the consequences will depend on how we confront Big Tech’s war against dissenting opinions. If Silicon Valley’s skeptics don’t unite and rally the public, the war may already be lost.
Brendan Steinhauser is CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI, a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the implications of advanced AI.
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