OpenAI hires three state policy leads as AI regulation intensifies
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OpenAI has hired Jessica Schumer, Caulder Harvill-Childs, and Thomas MacLellan to lead state policy efforts across the Northeast, Southeast, and cyber defense. The hires come as bipartisan state-level AI regulation efforts intensify across the United States.
Key Facts
- Jessica Schumer, former chief of staff at the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama, will oversee policy and partnerships across the Northeast.
- Caulder Harvill-Childs, a Republican policy veteran who worked for Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, will lead state-level policy across the Southeast.
- Thomas MacLellan will lead OpenAI's state cyber defense policy after more than twenty years of cyber and public policy experience at Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, FireEye, and the National Governors Association.
- OpenAI has successfully influenced AI transparency laws in California and New York.
State Policy Expansion
OpenAI's global affairs team is growing with three key hires focused on state policy, a spokesperson for the lab told Axios. The company tapped policy professionals with Republican and Democratic ties, as well as industry experience, as bipartisan efforts across the country to regulate artificial intelligence intensify. Jessica Schumer, daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, most recently led Amazon's public policy work in New York. Caulder Harvill-Childs most recently managed public policy for Meta.
Regulatory Strategy
Under the leadership of top lobbyist Chris Lehane, OpenAI is taking on a 'reverse federalism' approach where large, powerful states adopt similar rules and create a de facto national standard. This strategy is a way to get around Congress' inability to pass tech laws as states race ahead. OpenAI has so far successfully influenced California and New York's AI transparency laws.
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