AI Industry Election Spending Tracker Launches as Merchant and White Debut New Show

What happened

Brian Merchant (Blood in the Machine) and Molly White (Citation Needed) launched a new video podcast 'Blood in the Machine: The Show' on June 26. The debut episode covers AI and crypto industry political spending in the US.

Context and impact

Projects like Fairshake (crypto super PAC) and the new Leading the Future (AI super PAC) showed in 2024 that tech capital can systematically swing election outcomes. White is simultaneously launching Tech Influence Watch — a dataset/dashboard letting journalists and regulators monitor money flows in real time. For the AI policy debate this is a new observational tool.

Details

• Hosts: Brian Merchant (Blood in the Machine) and Molly White (Citation Needed)
• Format: video podcast + newsletter
• Debut topic: AI/crypto spending in US elections
• Companion project: Tech Influence Watch (Molly White)
• Positioning: investigative tracker outside mainstream media