Key facts
- Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed legislation to create a sovereign wealth fund by taxing major AI companies.
- The proposed tax is 50% on the stock of AI companies with over $200 million in annual AI sales.
- The fund is estimated to be worth $7 trillion and would provide direct payments to Americans.
- An independent commission would manage the fund and use its voting shares to influence corporate decisions.
- The proposal aims to ensure AI benefits the public and not just wealthy corporations.
Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced legislation that would create a sovereign wealth fund, financed by a significant tax on major artificial intelligence companies, to give the American public direct ownership and influence over the industry. The proposal, revealed exclusively to The Associated Press, would impose a one-time 50% tax on the stock of AI companies that reach $200 million in annual AI sales.
Sanders estimates this tax would generate a fund of approximately $7 trillion. This fund would then be managed by an independent, seven-person commission, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The commission would use its voting shares to block decisions detrimental to the public and advocate for policies that benefit Americans. A 5% annual dividend from the fund is projected to provide direct payments of over $1,000 to every American, with further gains potentially funding public goods like education, housing, and healthcare.
Sanders stated that the benefits of AI should be shared by the American people, not just a few wealthy corporations. He emphasized that the public must have a significant role to ensure AI benefits ordinary people and prevents negative outcomes. He also noted that taxpayers would not bear losses if AI company valuations decline.
Similar concepts of public stakes in AI have been discussed by President Donald Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Trump has suggested a partnership with the American public in AI development, while Altman proposed a public wealth fund to share AI-driven economic growth. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has also suggested taxing relevant companies to finance universal basic income. However, Sanders' proposal is considerably more aggressive than these other ideas, aiming for public ownership of half of the largest AI companies.
Sanders intends to make AI ownership and wealth inequality a central theme of his political messaging, aligning with broader concerns about technology's impact on workers and the economy, as echoed by other candidates like Mallory McMorrow and Alex Bores.