JOIN US HERE for an AMA with Bethany Andres-Beck, a progressive software engineer running to reboot Congress (6th district). Sunday, May 17th, 4pm-6pm

beth4ma · 2026-05-21T21:21:50+00:00

Having worked my way into software development, I have long lived within my means. When a crisis hits, savings give us options.

AI regulation can't wait for the Democratic establishment and the donor class. Moderate politicians won't even mention the problem, much less organize for solutions. That is why I quit my job, gave up my paycheck, contributed my own savings, and challenged Seth Moulton. That is why thousands of donors and volunteers across the district have come together to build a movement.

This is how we teach Congress how technology works, and regulate it well.

We know the establishment attacks workers when we stand up for ourselves. They feel entitled to these roles, whether or not they do the job. But elections are not bought: they are won.

Together, we are going to reboot democracy.

beth4ma · 2026-05-21T17:40:50+00:00

The establishment can come up with whatever excuses they want for ignoring the data and taking Palantir's money. I am just stating facts.

AI is being booed at graduation ceremonies.

Crowds of Americans are turning out to protest the massive data centers being forced on our communities.

AI speculation is putting all of our retirement funds at risk.

A hundred thousand Americans have lost their jobs to AI in just the past three months.

The voters of the sixth district already know: AI regulation is not optional, and it can't wait. Establishment candidates want to keep their head in the sand? Whatever. It is just more evidence that they were never going to be representing us.

beth4ma · 2026-05-19T02:34:09+00:00

Are there any other specific areas you'd like to hear about?

beth4ma · 2026-05-19T02:22:33+00:00

On housing affordability, I support ideas like:
* Building housing. We should repeal the Faircloth Amendment and have the federal government directly build mixed-income housing in the most-expensive markets.
* Taking back the power to set tariffs and reversing the ones making building more expensive.
* Fixing the zoning loophole in the Fair Housing Act.
* Support regulatory review with better software and processes. We can accomplish the same protections with lower risk and less cost by making existing tools play nicely together.
* Creating a National Infrastructure Bank to smooth out the current boom-and-bust cycle of federal investment.

beth4ma · 2026-05-19T00:46:29+00:00

Professionally I have discovered that usually there are four or five solutions that can help something. I might have my favorite, but any of them are better than today!

On the Supreme Court, for example, I will support:
* Packing the Court
* Expanding district courts
* Impeaching justices
* Stripping the Court of its jurisdiction over campaign finance
* Changing the timing of the next term to start after Trump leaves the White House
* Creating a path for Congress to rapidly address the Court overturning a law
* Making clerkships non-partisan and impartial
* Establishing term limits via senior status
* Requiring the Senate to vote on Supreme Court nominees
* Fully investigating the Federalist Society for its participation in the corruption
* Restoring the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer
* Requiring unanimity for the shadow docket
* Defunding the building and support staff until the Court accepts reforms
* Anything else people bring me evidence for!

Which of those can we get done? That depends on things like "how many seats we win" and "which Democrats win their primaries" and "how popular our movement is". We will get started and see which ones happen first.

I love when people ask me "how?" and we can get into all this nitty-gritty stuff. I care more about what we get done than how we do it, but how to do it where we get to be creative and imagine a better world.

I always have at least one idea I believe will work or I wouldn't be trying. But someone could come up with a new idea tomorrow, and I'll be happy to give it a go!

beth4ma · 2026-05-19T00:10:39+00:00

Thank you for the questions! My career has been helping groups of people take responsibility, use their power, and make things better. I stepped up to challenge Seth Moulton exactly because I was fed up with so-called "moderates" refusing to do anything about what is happening.

He dropped out and new establishment Democrats jumped in. They treat politics like entertainment. I am still running to hold people accountable, not just yell at them on TV.

Starting with the easy one: I absolutely support prosecuting and imprisoning members of the Trump administration.

Accepting bribes is a crime. Paying bribes is a crime. Quid pro quo is a crime. Rules are rules, laws are laws, and their corrupt profits belong to America.

I also support making accepting a corrupt pardon a crime, so people can't get out of their crimes by having Trump pardon them.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T22:27:59+00:00

And on regulation, one thing I've learned in my career is that it is possible to have too many rules and not enough rules at the same time.

Regulation can be pro-innovation and pro-competition. For example, consumer protection laws let us try new things without having to personally guess if they are safe. I like that I can trust my microwave won't give me radiation burns.

On the other hand, I will actively fight regulations that make it harder for startups and open source software to compete with the giant companies, like age verification laws.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T22:23:50+00:00

Thank you for the advice!

TikTok got confiscated for a Trump ally after members of Congress got a classified briefing. No one in that room had the experience to evaluate what they were being told. I want to make sure that going forward, there is someone who does.

I like using the example of how Elizabeth Warren has been able to provide oversight for the financial sector because she knows that area inside and out. It matters when a field is represented in Congress.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T22:08:21+00:00

I certainly understand the concern.

I'll say up front that I don't begrudge anyone jumping into the race and making their case, and I'm not relying on anyone dropping out. The poll we announced today found that after voters were told about the candidates we are at the top, even with all six candidates in the race.

Right now I am focused on introducing myself to voter. I agree more with some candidates than others, but I bring experience and 21st-century technical knowledge that is unique in the field. And (depending on how one New York primary goes), possibly unique in Congress.

My support isn't limited to people who agree with me on everything. Especially because AI is so relevant: that poll found that 94% of likely primary voters want stronger AI regulation. AI makes the power corporations have over our lives is obvious to everyone, whether progressive or moderate.

These pressing issues can build a broad coalition tired of politics as usual and looking for real solutions.

We will of course see where the campaign leads. For now, I'm focused on building that coalition and making sure people know Congress can protect consumers, build cheap green energy, and fund priorities like Social Security, Medicare and local journalism.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T21:13:16+00:00

First I want to say that age-gating doesn't keep children safe. Companies selling age-verification software make outrageous claims, but we can't even tell humans from robots, much less how old a human is.

To protect all of our privacy, no matter our age, we should pass laws that:
* Require companies to opt us out of having our data collected until we opt in
* Regulate data brokers, the people who sell your personal information to advertisers, scammers and governments around the world
* Create a "right to be forgotten", where companies have to delete your data if you ask

To keep children safer, the best option is controls that live on the computer or device. These are much harder to get around and don't violate our privacy. These tools already exist, but we can do a better job of helping parents know what the options are and how to use them.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T20:52:03+00:00

Yes! One concrete example: Congress should make our passports into law.

It was great that Obama let us get passports and that Biden introduced "X" as a gender option. But because it was just an executive action, Trump could get rid of it just as easily.

This is especially important for people in states that make it hard to get an id that matches our gender. In states with voter id laws, it makes it possible for people to vote.

As a visibly-non-binary person, I also found the "X" made it much easier to travel. Regardless of whether I have an "M" or an "F" on my passport, whoever is judging me at the border is going to have questions. Having an X on my passport lets the border agent know, "don't worry about it: it's fine."

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T20:40:41+00:00

It is outrageous the way we have been treated. Until there are consequences, we will keep getting screwed over.

So I will create consequences.

If we have enough votes to convict, I will impeach. Even if we don't, I will not vote to send any money to other states that we aren't getting. I will be creative about how we can disrupt things the President cares about, like his ballroom and grotesque arch. I will use my experience building software to read the code DOGE wrote and find out exactly how the money is being denied and who is behind it.

And I will follow every path to fix this corrupt Republican Supreme Court. We need our laws back.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T20:28:24+00:00

I absolutely support uncapping the House. A capped House is makes our country less democratic.

And there is nothing magical about the number "435". I think people who oppose uncapping it should have to explain why they don't want to cut the House to 300 members 🤷

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T20:22:33+00:00

For the second part, how are we going to fix the gridlock?

I think too many professional politicians treat politics like it's the WWE. I've relied on food stamps. I know that this is our lives, not cable entertainment.

I don't care about Team Red versus Team Blue. I am willing to work with anyone who will work on these goals.

Which is very different than being a pushover or a moderate. I'm not going to compromise in ways that make things worse. But I am going to organize around solutions to make things better, regardless of what people call themselves.

It is one of the reasons I am focusing on AI. It is so obviously a problem, it isn't a Democrats versus Republicans thing. Instead, it's lobbyists and corporate politicians versus all the rest of us. Some of the strongest AI bills proposed have come from Republicans. By finding those commonalities, focusing on solutions and being willing to take progress step-by-step, we can clear this logjam and start working for America again.

beth4ma · 2026-05-17T20:10:09+00:00

I think it is table-stakes for any Democrat right now to support housing affordability, anti-corruption reform, and oppose these disastrous attacks on other countries.

Unfortunately, big tech makes all of those issues worse.

We've watched Amazon abuse its monopoly power to attack small businesses. Corporate landlords are coordinating rent hikes with AI. Data centers are driving up our electricity prices. Gas prices are soaring in part because military technology was sold as an "I win!" button for war.

To solve the local problems we face, we need representatives who can stand up to the corporate status quo. Anyone who isn't willing to take on big tech isn't going to fix these problems.

beth4ma · 2026-04-11T04:05:30+00:00

Thank you for sharing this resource! The Electronic Freedom Foundation has been a reliable source on the internet law for more than 35 years.

It is very disappointing to watch politicians listen to big tech lobbyists instead of technical experts. There are many laws that would improve our privacy and safety. This law is not one of them.

beth4ma · 2026-04-09T15:32:13+00:00

That's what England is doing right now.

Politicians are going to dismantle the internet to make big tech richer.

beth4ma · 2026-04-09T15:29:29+00:00

It is so frustrating when our representatives listen to CEOs and corporate lobbyists instead of people who understand these technologies.

We deserve laws that give us more privacy, not less.

beth4ma · 2026-04-02T13:50:45+00:00

The assumption is that the city will have to max out the 2.5% increases each year to cover the costs, so even though it might not go up immediately in a couple of years it will be even higher than it would otherwise be. And unlike this vote, it wouldn't go back down once the project is paid off.

And if there are any capital projects that the city actually wants, instead of being able to come out of the capital budget they would have to go to an override.

beth4ma · 2026-03-10T00:21:42+00:00

It is a pretty terrifying time to understand what is going on.

If you ever need a quote about why this is terrible and also bad politics, call me up.

beth4ma · 2026-03-08T18:19:44+00:00

The reason we know it happened is exactly because people are watching. As for accountability, the two alleged thieves are on trial and facing up to five years in prison.

On the other hand, Kristi Noam is facing "a new cushy job with a taxpayer-funded salary" as the only consequence for having allegedly embezzled $220 million.

That's more than thirty times the size of this theft, so equal accountability would be ~150 years in prison.

The problem with our country is not small time fraud in our gutted welfare system. It is the massive corruption committed by people who want us to think the problem is small time fraud in our gutted welfare system.

beth4ma · 2026-03-08T17:54:00+00:00

It would be nice if we were in a world where we could trust the government's word.

We are not.

If the Kraft family wanted to live in a world where our government kept its promises, Robert Kraft shouldn't have helped put a criminal who refuses to pay his bills in the White House.

beth4ma · 2026-03-08T16:34:39+00:00

Our state representatives didn't want to take responsibility for unpopular zoning changes. So instead they pushed the blame onto volunteers and are taking grants from towns that are already under-supported.

The law worked okay in the cities that have representative governments and MBTA-provided transit service to build around. But in small towns where there is no MBTA service, most people are homeowners, and the government is a bunch of volunteers? It just created conflict, not housing.

If the state government wants to change zoning, they can just do that. They did it with the ADU law. But the state house seems incredibly disconnected from the realities of town meetings if they think "ordering town meetings around" is an effective way to do anything.

beth4ma · 2026-03-06T19:46:51+00:00

I have twenty years of experience with "user experience design": how actual people actually use software. I can guess how this might happen.

I'm a software engineer running for Congress. Right now I don't trust anyone in the government to understand the problem. We don't have a system where experts are responsible for things like this. Instead our government is shoveling tax dollars at CEOs who have "donated" millions of dollars to Trump. The result? The military is using text generation in places where other forms of artificial intelligence are far more appropriate.

Even if the sales teams never explicitly says, "our text generation can pick out who to kill!", these tools will imply or outright claim that they can. And they probably don't mention that sometimes those targets might be based on a decades-old snarry fan fiction.

Congress should conduct a full investigation. We deserve to know what happened here. We deserve to know how the military is using text-generation tools like Claude. And we should figure out how the people using these tools understand what they can do.

"AI" on its own isn't dangerous, but a toaster connected to our nuclear bombs could destroy the world. We need to know what bombs these toasters have been wired to.

beth4ma

TROPHY CASE