The Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute

Centering public opinion and AI safety in the political discourse

The Challenge

Manage the launch and media strategy for the Artificial Intelligence Policy Institute (AIPI), a new think tank seeking to promote responsible AI regulations that mitigate catastrophic risk. We sought to counteract the prevailing momentum of loud voices on AI who advocate for a move-fast-and-break-things approach to the technology. We recognized the hunger for AI news and understood that many journalists were new to the issue and learning about the landscape in real time.

The Strategy

Slingshot identified newly launched AI-focused newsletters and veteran technology reporters and regularly pitched our polling as exclusives to widely read publications in both the technology or political spaces, differentiating between the two's unique needs. We developed a rapid-response strategy that incorporated statements and polling data to help get the API into the stories shaping media cycles on this subject.

Our first survey clearly showed that Americans are wary of rapid AI development and want policymakers to step in with reasonable safety regulations. We polled numerous proposals on AI issues and consistently found that the public is skeptical of tech giants who want to rush into AI development without proper guardrails.

These findings, disseminated in the press, created a permission structure for policymakers to push for reasonable regulation and a sense of urgency around the action. Specifically, Slingshot was able to gain the attention of numerous House and Senate offices, meet face-to-face with the folks driving AI policy on Capitol Hill, and establish the API as a key resource for reporters covering this subject.