Visa plugs its payment network into ChatGPT, letting AI agents shop and pay for users

He may not be a household name yet, but Greg Brockman is among the world’s most powerful individuals. The OpenAI co-founder is one of President Trump’s richest and most generous financial backers, and is spending tens of millions of dollars to fight A.I. regulation. He is using OpenAI to produce hi-tech and futuristic surveillance and military systems, with Israel using its technology in its genocide in Gaza.

MintPress News sheds light on the tech billionaire quietly pulling the strings in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s Billionaire Backer

Politics is an expensive business to be in. Thankfully for the Republican Party, they can rely on the support of Greg Brockman. Together with his wife, Anna, the OpenAI co-founder donated $25 million to MAGA Inc. – a super PAC funding President Trump and his allies.

MAGA Inc. relies almost entirely on billionaires like Brockman for its money. Sixty-two percent of the $305 million it raised came from donors pledging $5 million or more, and 96% from pledges over $1 million.

The figure of $305 million is completely unprecedented, dwarfing all previous records for a president’s super PAC. This, despite the fact Trump is legally barred from running for president again. Nevertheless, during his time in office, he has ignored so many laws and protocols that many are predicting he will attempt to do so regardless.

The decision to bankroll Trump’s political ambitions has provoked alarm among many employees of OpenAI – the company that launched A.I. chatbot, ChatGPT. Some have suggested that Brockman’s contributions go beyond merely quid pro quo political lobbying and represent an effort to change the course of the country.

A.I. PAC

Brockman himself has claimed that he is not political. His largest previous donation was $5,400 to Hillary Clinton back in 2016 – a paltry sum for someone worth an estimated $25.5 billion. Yet this new Trump contribution is part of a wider wave of influence, as the billionaire enters the political sphere in order to advance his own interests, and those of OpenAI.

The Brockmans have also sunk $50 million into Leading the Future, a bipartisan super PAC aimed at promoting the adoption of A.I. into a wide variety of sectors, and attacking and unseating skeptical legislators calling for increased regulation of the industry.

“This mission, in my mind, is bigger than companies, bigger than corporate structures,” he told WIRED Magazine, adding, “We are embarking on a journey to develop this technology that’s going to be the most impactful thing humanity has ever created. Getting that right and making that benefit everyone, that’s the most important thing.”

The public, however, are deeply skeptical. A recent poll found that public confidence in A.I. is very low – and falling. Only 5% of Americans say they trust A.I. a lot, and 77% worrying that the technology could represent a fundamental threat to humanity.

Many politicians agree, and wish to get a hold on the technology before it is too late. Yet the A.I. Industry is already worth hundreds of billions of dollars, making the likes of Brockman and co-founder Sam Altman some of the richest people on the planet. The worry is that the A.I. Industry will find its newfound wealth to lobby hard against legislation that would limit its growth, spending millions to crush anti-A.I. lawmakers.

To this end, they already have a model to follow in AIPAC. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee floods money into races involving candidates critical of Israel in an effort to cajole and coerce U.S. politicians into supporting Israel.

Earlier this month, Representative Thomas Massie – a fierce critic of Israel and the war on Iran – lost his Kentucky primary, after AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups spent tens of millions of dollars attacking him and funding his opponent, Ed Gallrein.

Massie’s Kentucky primary was the most expensive in U.S. history. The second- and third-costliest primary races in history also featured AIPAC successfully defeating Israel critics, Jamal Bowman and Cori Bush.

If many in the tech world have their way, unqualified support for A.I. could become the default position like championing Israel, with lawmakers wary of taking on the industry, lest they lose their seats. They certainly have the money to create an A.I. PAC of sorts; OpenAI alone is already valued at some $852 billion.

Using A.I. To Crack Down on Anti-A.I. Dissent

President Trump is already moving to block moves to regulate the industry. In December, he signed an executive order preventing states from passing their own laws limiting A.I., something that 38 states had already done.

The reasons for the decision were not clear. Trump himself stated that the plan was to have “one central source of approval.” But his A.I. czar, David Sacks, said that it represented an attempt to push back against many states’ “onerous” rules, and to help the U.S. compete with China.

Trump himself is personally invested in A.I., having bo…