Sen. Bernie Sanders: US government should own half of big AI companies in an “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund”
Anti-AI sentiment appears to be on the rise — commencement speakers being booed at the mention of AI, local officials losing their jobs over support for data center deals, and public polling showing a continued unease surrounding AI use.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) knows how to read the room.
In an op-ed in The New York Times today, Sanders makes the case that today’s leading AI models were built using public works without permission or compensation:
“When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth. A.I. is being built on a public resource far more valuable than oil: the accumulated knowledge, creativity and labor of mankind.”
Sanders plans on introducing legislation to create the “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund.” This unusual proposal would issue a one-time tax of 50% of the big AI companies — such as OpenAI and Anthropic — paid to the US government in the form of stock. The fund would provide direct payments to Americans as it grows, much like Alaska’s “permanent fund,” which issues checks to its residents from 25% of all oil and mineral leases and sales.
While the idea of just handing over half of OpenAI or Anthropic to Uncle Sam sounds crazy, Sanders points out that AI leaders have been suggesting similar ideas recently as a potential solution to massive labor shifts caused by AI that could eliminate whole categories of jobs.
Additionally, President Trump has already signed an executive order to create a plan for a sovereign wealth fund. Trump has also been keen on the US getting a piece of the action, directing the US government to take public stakes in Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals.
Sanders also argues the public’s large stakes in these companies would give American taxpayers a seat at the table to “block decisions that hurt our citizens and to push for policies that help them.”
In an op-ed in The New York Times today, Sanders makes the case that today’s leading AI models were built using public works without permission or compensation:
“When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth. A.I. is being built on a public resource far more valuable than oil: the accumulated knowledge, creativity and labor of mankind.”
Sanders plans on introducing legislation to create the “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund.” This unusual proposal would issue a one-time tax of 50% of the big AI companies — such as OpenAI and Anthropic — paid to the US government in the form of stock. The fund would provide direct payments to Americans as it grows, much like Alaska’s “permanent fund,” which issues checks to its residents from 25% of all oil and mineral leases and sales.
While the idea of just handing over half of OpenAI or Anthropic to Uncle Sam sounds crazy, Sanders points out that AI leaders have been suggesting similar ideas recently as a potential solution to massive labor shifts caused by AI that could eliminate whole categories of jobs.
Additionally, President Trump has already signed an executive order to create a plan for a sovereign wealth fund. Trump has also been keen on the US getting a piece of the action, directing the US government to take public stakes in Intel, MP Materials, Lithium Americas, and Trilogy Metals.
Sanders also argues the public’s large stakes in these companies would give American taxpayers a seat at the table to “block decisions that hurt our citizens and to push for policies that help them.”
