Wall Street bonuses surged to a record-high $47.5 billion for 2024

After Anthropic’s Mythos model spooked companies and governments around the world, the White House was reportedly ready to respond with an executive order that would have given the government access to unreleased frontier models for up to 90 days before public release, to ensure safety.

Top AI companies were briefed on the proposed executive order, and a White House event with an extensive roster of tech executives was ready to go, but it was killed at the last minute, according to reports. Axios reported that last-minute lobbying by former White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, along with other tech executives, helped convince President Trump to kill the order. Trump told reporters, “I didn’t like certain aspects of it. I postponed it.”

The now finalized order calls for the creation of an “AI cybersecurity clearinghouse” in concert with the AI industry, and directs national security agencies to develop and maintain a “classified benchmarking process” to review the capabilities of new frontier models.

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.”

Per Semafor, that meeting included a significant number of questions about the would-be streaming giant’s theatrical release priorities. Ellison has pledged to release a “minimum” of 30 films for theaters between Paramount and WBD upon completion of the merger, and to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for films, followed by a three-month SVOD (digital rent or purchase) period before they land on Paramount+.

The DOJ has not yet approved the merger, and the agency’s current apparent analysis could shift.

It’s unclear what other topics were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. Hollywood insiders critical of a Warner Bros. acquisition have also highlighted that any merger decreasing the number of content buyers would squeeze an already depressed entertainment labor market.