OpenAI is preparing a public-relations push after the U.S. midterm elections, according to an Axios report covered by TechCrunch. Chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane told Axios the midterms will be “a bit of a movie trailer for what you’re going to see in 2028,” when AI could be “the issue” in the presidential election. The reported proposals include AI “speed limits,” reframing AI as empowering in daily life, pushing the U.S. to help develop global AI standards, and rebranding data centers as “AI compute campuses.”

Lehane described the current debate over data centers as “good and healthy” — a debate that has already led Amazon and Microsoft to drop NDAs in negotiations with local governments. He said communities should hold companies responsible so they “really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects.”