OpenAI has begun to rename its data-center facilities as “compute campuses” and is asking local communities to weigh in on future construction plans. The company also compares prospective AI regulations to speed limits for automobiles, arguing that artificial intelligence already assists everyday tasks. In parallel, it is advocating for worldwide AI standards, a development first noted by Axios.
Early feedback from AI-safety advocates suggests the outreach may be viewed as superficial. Brad Carson, a former Democratic representative from Oklahoma and co-founder of Americans for Responsible Innovation, warned that renaming the debate with what he called “Orwellian” terminology would set the company up for failure. The criticism underscores lingering distrust among policy-focused groups.
OpenAI’s chief lobbyist, Chris Lehane, told Semafor that the company’s refreshed stance on data centers and user-centric AI policy is intended to endure, even if it occupies a solitary niche. He noted that state legislators will flood the calendar in the months after the election, with “hundreds and hundreds of state bills,” and questioned whether Congress and the White House wish to relinquish oversight of that surge.
The firm is also drafting a mandatory AI testing bill that it believes could attract the sixty votes required for passage by linking legislators across party lines. In addition, OpenAI has publicly backed two frontier-AI safety proposals introduced in California, signaling a selective endorsement of state-level regulations while continuing to push for broader federal action.
Lehane said OpenAI recently consulted with Representative Ted Lieu of California regarding the “kill switch” legislation he introduced in July, and that the company is preparing follow-up measures to improve safety for teenage users. These discussions are portrayed as steps toward making the firm’s products more secure for younger audiences.
According to Lehane, OpenAI’s policy outlook aims to occupy a middle ground between extreme positions on artificial intelligence, a strategy he believes will prevent the United States from losing ground to China by outright rejecting data-center expansion. He echoed the White House’s call for a light-touch regulatory approach and stressed that, regardless of which party controls Congress, bipartisan cooperation will be essential for any substantive AI legislation.