Who Sets AI’s Rules? VCs bring $100M; schools and cities hit ‘publish’

This week on The Impact, Hal and Addie unpack how money and rules are shaping the AI landscape. They dig into the $100 million “Leading the Future” campaign backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights, Ohio’s first-in-the-nation requirement for school AI policies, and how cities like Boston are already writing their own playbooks—complete with a $30 AI-made PSA that replaced a $20,000 project. The hosts break down Washington’s controversial push for “ideology-neutral” AI in federal procurement, new findings on bias in how models rate think tanks, and the growing need for bio-risk checks before AI tools hit labs. Abroad, they cover Nvidia’s delicate negotiations on China chip sales, South Korea’s bet on AI as an engine of growth, and dueling U.S.–China governance visions that could decide who sets the global rules. The through-line: whoever sets the standards—PACs, principals, or policymakers—controls the market.