![[OC] Who's really lobbying AI policy](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/3idfplpmp08f1-1536x916.png "[OC] Who’s really lobbying AI policy")
I pulled data from IRS filings and public reports to see which AI associations were behind AI lobbying efforts.
| Association | Est. Net Assets | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| SCSP | $158,000,000 | U.S. AI power + geopolitics |
| AAAI | $14,000,000 | Academic research |
| NeurIPS Foundation | $14,000,000 | Machine learning conference |
| Partnership on AI | $8,000,000 | Ethics, policy, civil society |
| ICLR | $3,000,000 | Deep learning / open peer review |
SCSP (Specialized Competitive Studies Project) has more than 10× the combined assets of all other top AI policy orgs. It was started by Eric Schmidt (ex-Google CEO) and has been quietly shaping U.S. strategy on AI and military applications.
Eric Schmidt has been compared to Peter Thiel of establishing a "shadow networks" of think tanks in Washington DC.
A story as old as time: money and lobbyists are unfortunately shaping the future of AI.
Tools Used: Google Sheets
Sources: AI Lobbying Report, AI Associations List, IRS Nonprofit Lookup
Posted by XsLiveInTexas
6 Comments
Cool info but wrong sub. This graph is not cute nor sleek. Does not reward the eyes
These orgs spend millions when the like of AWS, GCP, and MS Azure rake in billions. The real players don’t really need to lobby, their products speak for themselves, flawed and imperfect as they are.
Not really beautiful data representation even though its something more people should be informed about.
Use 1e8 as a scale instead of millions or even just translating it directly into 100s of millions is criminal
I’m glad someone is championing American competitiveness because a lot of people just don’t care.
This data can be presented in a much more effective way. Especially since SCSP is a dedicated think tank for this purpose and not a preexisting entity.
It would be better to present it as Eric Schmidt and related backers