Pro-Science Group Announces “The Innovation Majority” — A Multi-Million Recruitment Campaign to Elect an AI-Literate Congress by 2028
314 Action today launched “The Innovation Majority”, a targeted recruitment campaign to elect data scientists, computer scientists, engineers, and AI researchers to Congress and state office by 2028 to deal with the rise of AI–ensuring that the economic and safety concerns with rapid AI development are regulated responsibly and swiftly.
“Our nation can’t wait a decade to take action on artificial intelligence, we need people who understand AI in Congress and state legislatures today,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, 314 Action President. “Democrats have ceded ground to Republicans on AI policy for far too long—and look where that got us. It’s clear Donald Trump and the GOP have no interest in taking any meaningful action, which is why we’re launching this initiative today to elect new leaders who will both embrace and harness AI.”
“As the nation’s only organization dedicated to electing Democratic scientists, we see it as our obligation to elect leaders in technology, artificial intelligence and data science to Washington to develop a regulatory framework informed by experts who have trained a model, audited an algorithm, or shipped a line of production code. We need people who understand the technology and are prepared to combat the risks of AI, not lawmakers who still print out their emails. For America to continue leading the world in the next frontier, we need more lawmakers from this generation to shape AI policy that offers guardrails and allows for technological advancements.”
314 Action will launch a multi-million dollar recruitment campaign to elect candidates to state legislatures, governor offices, and federal offices with technical backgrounds in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science, expanding the organization’s science-and-medicine bench into the engineers and technologists now shaping the economy.
Congress is aging even as the technology it regulates accelerates and more and more Americans view AI as a threat to their employment and wellbeing. The median member of the current Congress is in their sixties, and a portion of sitting lawmakers have publicly struggled with basic digital literacy, from committee hearings where members have asked tech CEOs how their apps make money to members’ own offices running outdated systems. Meanwhile, decisions on AI safety standards, algorithmic bias, data privacy, and automation’s effect on the workforce are being made largely by people only loosely familiar with the systems in question.
“We’re putting AI on the ballot in 2028,” continued Naughton. “Just like doctors bring years of clinical judgment to health policy, we need engineers and data scientists who understand how these systems actually work crafting the policy that governs them.”
There are currently only a handful of engineers, data scientists, and technologists serving in Congress. 314 Action’s new initiative to recruit and elect engineers, data scientists, and AI experts to all levels of government will build on the groundwork the organization has already established. In addition to recruitment, 314 Action will work closely with candidates throughout their campaign.
Considering running for office? Sign up to be part of The Innovation Majority here.