OpenAI Hires Akin Gump to Lobby in DC on ‘Hard’ Regulation Task

OpenAI is bulking up its lobbying operation in Washington with the hire of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to work on bills and regulations related to artificial intelligence.

Akin Gump’s Ed Pagano, a former Senate liaison in the Obama administration, and Reggie Babin, a former chief counsel for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), have been lobbying for OpenAI since Nov. 21, according to a Dec. 22 filing. They are working alongside DLA Piper, which began federal lobbying work for the ChatGPT maker in October.

The hires signal the Microsoft-backed startup is making a more concerted effort to engage with lawmakers grappling with how to regulate artificial intelligence technology. Several bills have been introduced in this Congress targeting AI, including one introduced in the Senate in November that would require internet platforms to provide notice to users when it is using the technology.

OpenAI had yet to lobby in front of Congress before the fourth quarter of this year, according to federal lobbying disclosures. Microsoft Corp.’s former senior director of congressional affairs, Chan Park, joined OpenAI in October and has registered as its sole in-house lobbyist.

Akin Gump is one of the largest lobbying shops in Washington. The team working for OpenAI also includes partner Hans Rickhoff and senior counsel Casey Higgins.

The firm began its work as OpenAI was thrust into upheaval with the abrupt ouster of its CEO Sam Altman. The firing spawned a flurry of events that ended with him back at his perch atop the AI startup that has received $13 billion in investments from Microsoft.

Altman testified before a US Senate panel in March, where he expressed support for regulations to prevent election misinformation and ensure AI-generated content is clear to users. He also spoke of the technology’s promise and urged Congress to regulate it.

Schumer said in July that regulating AI will be “one of the hardest tasks that Congress has ever faced.”