Anthropic's AI Regulation Push Echoes FTX's Cryptocurrency Lobbying Tactics

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, has been pushing for greater government regulation of AI. This push bears striking similarities to the Washington strategy employed by Sam Bankman-Fried, the former cryptocurrency entrepreneur, during his time at FTX. Bankman-Fried lobbied for a regulatory system for crypto, presenting it as necessary for public safety, while actually using the money to increase FTX's influence in Washington.

Anthropic has spent millions lobbying policymakers and backing groups that support tougher AI rules. CEO Dario Amodei has called for mandatory testing and auditing of advanced models, warning that they pose serious national security and public safety risks. This rhetoric is backed by large amounts of cash, with the firm spending close to $7 million on lobbying efforts from 2025 through the middle of 2026.

Anthropic's pro-safety rhetoric is similar to Bankman-Fried's, who justified his efforts by saying that public safety was at stake. However, critics argue that both companies are using regulation to strengthen their competitive positions. Former Trump administration AI advisor David Sacks posted that Anthropic is running a 'sophisticated regulatory capture strategy based on fear-mongering.'

Anthropic has maintained that its commitment to public safety is genuine, but its legislative activity has been accused of harming smaller competitors. The company has backed bills that allegedly would harm less established AI labs, including California's SB 53. While labs with revenue below $500 million are partially exempted, lower-income firms that use a certain amount of computational resources are still subject to transparency requirements under SB 53.