Episode

Why Are Palantir and OpenAI Scared of Alex Bores?

Podcast
The Ezra Klein Show
Published
Apr 21, 2026
Duration seconds
5566
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-alex-bores.html
Audio
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/6qj4J/pscrb.fm/rss/p/nyt.simplecastaudio.com/3026b665-46df-4d18-98e9-d1ce16bbb1df/episodes/1f243f36-35cd-4d03-9c42-58ef54d6860f/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=3026b665-46df-4d18-98e9-d1ce16bbb1df&awEpisodeId=1f243f36-35cd-4d03-9c42-58ef54d6860f&feed=82FI35Px
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-ezra-klein-show-1371595/episodes/why-are-palantir-and-openai-scared-of-alex-bores
Markdown
/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show-1371595/why-are-palantir-and-openai-scared-of-alex-bores.md

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Summary

Leading the Future, a super PAC whose funders include the founders of companies like Palantir and OpenAI, is spending millions of dollars this election cycle, and a considerable amount of that money is going toward attack ads against Alex Bores – even though Bores himself used to work for Palantir. Bores is a New York state assemblyman who is running for Congress to represent New York’s 12th District. His campaign includes an extensive A.I. policy platform, including demands for A.I. companies to be more transparent about safety, and an idea for an “A.I. dividend” that would redistribute some of the profits of A.I. companies to the public. So his race has turned into a central battleground over the future of the A.I. industry and who has the power to shape it. In this conversation, we discuss how Bores went from working for Palantir to running a campaign that would regulate the A.I. industry, the major issues he thinks A.I. policy needs to address, and his response to the attacks against him. Mentioned: Give People Money by Annie Lowrey “Alex Bores’ AI Policy Framework For Congress” “NY Congressional Candidate Faced Palantir Sexual Comments Claim” by Laura Nahmias “AI populism’s warning shots” by Jasmine Sun Book Recommendations: A Theory of Justice by John Rawls World Eaters by Catherine Bracy Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs. This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Lori Segal. Our senior e…