Midterms Could Change the Politics of AI

Four telecom policy experts — telecom, not AI, which is the first laugh — gathered on Wednesday for something called BroadbandLive to declare that the Nov. 3 midterms will not produce major federal AI legislation. Shocking. The people who spent decades perfecting the art of broadband policy are now here to tell us that Congress won't act on artificial intelligence before an election. Next they'll confirm that water remains wet. But the kicker: they say the story told afterward could change how both parties approach the technology. Because nothing says urgent governance like waiting for the narrative to settle.

The experts described a "game of chicken" over showing concern without owning the fallout of any AI market bubble. That's the entire political class in one phrase: desperate to look worried about the robot apocalypse, terrified of being the one holding the bag when the valuation fairy stops visiting. It isn't a policy debate; it's a staring contest where the loser gets blamed for the crash. Both parties are locked in a delicate dance of performative anxiety. Meanwhile, actual AI capabilities gallop ahead, unbothered by the midterms.

So the great hope is that after Nov. 3, someone tells a better story. Not a bill, not a regulator with teeth, not an international treaty — a story. That's the level of ambition on offer. The telecom experts are probably right that nothing major will pass before the election. But the idea that the post-election narrative will somehow discipline a market bubble or align AI development with the public good is like expecting a strongly worded tweet to fix climate change. It's a game of chicken, all right, and the rest of us are the road.