Jason Poulos, an AI researcher from Sherborn challenging Congressman Jake Auchincloss in the September 1 Democratic primary for the MA-4 seat which represents Newton, says artificial intelligence is already displacing workers and Congress isn’t doing enough about it.
“We need large structural changes to create a floor for workers,” Poulos said in a Fig City News podcast interview. He pointed to Oracle’s recent layoffs of tens of thousands of employees as the company redirected resources toward AI data centers. Poulos said Oracle has stated that human labor is no longer as valuable to the company and that it wants to invest its resources in AI data centers.
Full recording of Jason Poulos interview, May 15, 2026.
Poulos grew up in Sherborn, attended Dover-Sherborn Regional High School, and went to UMass Amherst on a Pell Grant before earning a PhD in political science and computational science at UC Berkeley. He completed postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he worked on predicting diabetes treatment outcomes using AI methods. Most recently, he worked as a contract specialist for Scale AI, contributing to benchmark projects that evaluate frontier AI models, including one published in Nature and another presented at ICLR, a top AI conference.
His platform centers on what he describes as the interconnected consequences of AI-driven automation: Medicare for All to decouple health insurance from employment, universal basic income to provide an income floor, strengthened collective bargaining rights through the PRO Act, and corporate taxes on automation to fund these programs.
Asked about the pace of AI development, Poulos said current models are outrunning the benchmarks designed to test them. “The pace of AI model development is actually exceeding the pace of benchmark development,” he said. On whether the field has reached artificial general intelligence, he argued that current AI systems still lack the ability to propose new scientific hypotheses. “That’s really to me the forefront of what intelligence means,” he said.
Contrasts with Auchincloss
Poulos drew sharp contrasts with Auchincloss across multiple issues. He cited the congressman’s vote to extend warrantless surveillance under FISA in 2024 and his support for the CORCA Act expanding DHS surveillance powers, which passed the House on May 12 with 144 Democratic votes. Poulos also claimed Auchincloss voted to increase the Pentagon budget and voted against a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United; a representative of Auchincloss’s office disputed both claims, noting the congressman has voted against every National Defense Authorization Act since taking office and has co-sponsored legislation to overturn Citizens United.
On Israel, Poulos said Auchincloss has voted for every supplemental spending bill transferring arms to Israel and stated that he has received over $1 million in contributions from what Poulos describes as the pro-Israel lobby network since 2020. OpenSecrets lists AIPAC as Auchincloss’s top career contributor, with direct contributions of more than $500,000. “I think there is a causal link in receiving the support, and the steadfast support to Israel,” Poulos said. He called for ending all U.S. military aid, citing the Leahy Laws, which prohibit aid to countries with documented human rights abuses.
Poulos also noted recent reporting by the Lever, a progressive leaning media outlet, on Auchincloss’s role as inaugural chairman of Majority Democrats — a network of PACs, a think tank called the Searchlight Institute, and a consultancy that share donors and operatives. “This is like a serious breach of our already weakened campaign finance regulations,” Poulos said. Spokespeople for Majority Democrats and its sister organization the Bench told the Lever that their practices are “fully compliant with the law” and that the Bench maintains “a strict firewall policy” between campaign and super PAC activity.
Fundraising and Campaign Viability
Poulos’s campaign faces a significant financial gap with his opponent. Federal Election Commission filings through March show $9,139 in total receipts, more than half of which ($5,000) came from the candidate himself. Auchincloss has nearly $7 million. Another challenger, Ihssane Leckey, dropped out of the race in April.
Poulos pointed to an average donation of $32 and a high proportion of recurring small-dollar contributions. “84% of all the donations that we’ve received are from individuals in this district,” he said, contrasting his grassroots model with what he described as Auchincloss’s reliance on corporate and special interest money.
The Democratic primary is September 1. FEC filings show campaign committees for four candidates for the Democratic primary ballot: Auchincloss, Leckey, Poulos, and Christopher Boyd. Leckey and Boyd have suspended their campaigns, leaving only Auchincloss and Poulos with active campaigns at the moment. The deadline for filing certified nomination papers (2000 signatures) to get on the ballot is 5pm June 2.
More information on Poulos’s campaign is available at poulos.house.
The full interview is available in the Fig City News Podcast series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other podcast players.
Ed Note: Jack Prior endorsed Congressman Auchincloss in his first run for Congress in 2019. This article has been updated to include corrections and responses from an Auchincloss representative on contested claims. Fig City News will be offering Congressman Auchincloss a follow-up interview..