Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s message is unambiguous: AI cash must be gone from politics. “Politicians — especially Dems — should pledge not to take AI money. They are buying up influence ahead of the midterms, and Dems who take AI $ will lose authority and trust as the public bears the cost,” she posted on X. “Their money will end up being toxic anyway. People are catching on.”

How much Democrats heed AOC remains to be seen, but it’s the sort of clarion call that may make sense on a moral and political level. In that sense, there is a precedent to work with for Democrats: AIPAC.

For years, AIPAC and the greater Israel lobby have distorted American politics and enabled the United States to link up with Israel to fight a disastrous war in Iran. AIPAC was once so accepted in the political firmament that just about every Democrat of note spoke at its conference. But Israel’s slaughter of tens of thousands of Gazans, including thousands of children, following the October 7 attacks has changed this calculus completely.

The AI lobby is not spending millions to sway politicians on the virtues of a foreign government that is, according to many observers, committing genocide. But it is fronting a movement that is no longer very popular. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that only 35 percent of Americans are “very excited” about artificial intelligence. A vast majority, 62 percent, are either “not so excited” (29 percent) or “not excited at all” (33 percent) about AI. When asked about how concerned they are, respondents are unequivocal: 80 percent are either “very concerned” (38 percent) or “somewhat concerned” (42 percent) about AI. Concern, as measured by Quinnipiac, cuts across age groups. Gen Z’s “very concerned” (35 percent)........

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