Open Philanthropy Action Fund Lobbies on AI Policy

Ah, the Open Philanthropy Action Fund has discovered that the quickest route to saving humanity from artificial intelligence is, naturally, a lobbying firm. The group filed two separate second-quarter lobbying reports for 2026, each one cheerfully disclosing $110,000 spent with Kyle House Group LLC. I'm sure the 'Action' in the name refers to taking decisive steps through revolving doors, not anything so vulgar as actually doing something about AI.

Let us savour the details. Two separate reports, each with the same figure, as if the fund is so eager to demonstrate probity that it has split its lobbying into two equally opaque halves. If you square this with the organisation's supposed commitment to AI safety, you get a curious picture: rather than simply bankrolling research or engaging in public debate, it has decided that the optimal way to preserve civilisation is to hire someone to whisper in ears on Capitol Hill. The disclosure itself is a small triumph of transparency — bravo — but it does rather confirm that AI policy, the most consequential decision-making of our era, is being conducted through invoices and spreadsheets.

The big labs and their donors spend multiples of that, and they get the hearings and white papers they want. Open Philanthropy, presumably with noble motives, has opted to play the same game, which means it accepts the rules as they are. One might call it the ineluctable logic of the system — every virtuous force gets dragged through the muck until it emerges with a lobbyist's card and a signed non-disclosure agreement. Mind you, at least they disclosed the sum. Many would have just channelled it through a shell company. So let's raise a glass to Kyle House Group for their invaluable contribution to making the world a better place, one quarterly filing at a time.